The SEC football teams that should, could, and will not advance to Atlanta

On Monday, former Alabama Football head coach, Nick Saban stated his picks for the SEC Championship Game matchup are the Georgia Bulldogs and Texas Longhorns.

Saban's picks are sound, but at least three other SEC football teams can make it to Atlanta. Following that group of five, five other SEC programs must also be considered.

That leaves six SEC football teams that have no chance of making the SEC Championship Game.

How was the grouping of five, five, and six derived? A combination of two ratings efforts was used. CBS Sports ranked the 16 head coaches and added rankings from 247Sports to measure five position group categories for each team. The purpose was to define strengths and weaknesses in each area.

The position group categories are: Quarterback; Skill (offensive players); Offensive Line; Front Seven, and Secondary - plus Head Coach. As a point of reference, only one team was ranked No. 1 in more than one category. That team is Georgia, and the Bulldogs are No. 1 in every category except offensive line and skill players.

The following grouping of teams is my projection based on the work of CBS and 247. While I disagree with some of the rankings, I made no rankings changes.

SEC Football Teams - Should Reach Atlanta

• Georgia Bulldogs - QB (No. 1); Skill (No. 2); OL (No. 3); Front 7 (No. 1); Secondary (No. 1 - tie), and Coach (No. 1)

• Texas Longhorns - QB (No. 2); Skill (No. 1); OL (No. 2); Front 7 (No. 5); Secondary (No. 7) and Coach (No. 3)

• Alabama Crimson Tide - QB (No. 4); Skill (No. 4); OL (No. 4); Front 7 (No. 4); Secondary (No. 1 - tie) and Coach (No. 4)

• Ole Miss Rebels - QB (No. 3); Skill (No. 3); OL (No. 6); Front 7 (No. 3); Secondary (No. 10) and Coach (No. 5)

• Missouri Tigers - QB (No. 5); Skill (No. 5); OL (No. 8); Front 7 (No. 10); Secondary (No. 4) and Coach (No. 7)

The rankings indicate neither the Rebels or the Tigers are near the top three teams, but in each case, a favorable schedule warrants their inclusion in the should group.

SEC Football Teams - Could Reach Atlanta

The range of 'Could' includes LSU and Tennessee at the top, followed by Texas A&M and Kentucky as less probable, and includes Oklahoma as a longshot.

• LSU Bengal Tigers - QB (No. 9); Skill (No.7); OL (No. 1); Front 7 (No. 11); Secondary (No. 13) and Coach (No. 2)

• Tennessee Vols - QB (No. 6); Skill (No. 6); OL (No. 5); Front 7 (No. 2); Secondary (No. 12) and Coach (No. 8)

• Texas A&M Aggies - QB (No. 8); Skill (No. 11); OL (No. 9); Front 7 (No. 6); Secondary (No. 6) and Coach (No. 9)

• Kentucky Wildcats - QB (No. 11), Skill (No. 12), OL (No. 7), Front 7 (No. 9), Secondary (No. 3) and Coach (No. 6)

• Oklahoma Sooners - QB (No. 10); Skill (No. 8); OL (No. 12); Front 7 (No. 7); Secondary (No. 5) and Coach (No. 11)

The no chance to make the SEC Championship Game group can be seen in a compressed format. For each of the six group rankings (QB, Skill, OL, Front 7, Secondary, and Coach, teams are listed from least bad to worst.

• QB - Florida (No. 7), Mississippi State (No. 12), Arkansas No. 13), Auburn (No. 14), South Carolina (No. 15) and Vanderbilt (No. 16)

• Skill - Auburn (No. 9), Florida (No. 10), South Carolina (No. 13), Arkansas (No. 14), Mississippi State (No. 15) and Vanderbilt (No. 16)

• OL - Auburn (No. 10), Florida No. 11), South Carolina (No. 13), Arkansas (No. 14), Mississippi State (No. 15) and Vanderbilt (No. 16)

• Front 7 - Arkansas (No. 8), Auburn (No. 12), South Carolina (No. 13), Florida (No. 14), Mississippi State (No. 15), and Vanderbilt (No. 16)

• Secondary - South Carolina (No. 8), Florida (No. 9), Auburn (No. 11), Mississippi State (No. 14), Arkansas (No. 15) and Vanderbilt (No. 16)

• Head Coach - Auburn (No. 10), South Carolina (No. 12), Florida (No. 13), Arkansas (No. 14), Vanderbilt (No. 15), and Mississippi State (No. 16)