The SEC has never been accused of rushing into conference competition in football. This season won’t be any different.
The first big Saturday of college football will be Aug. 31. But the SEC won’t began conference play until the following week when South Carolina plays at Kentucky.
I get goose bumps just thinking about that matchup.
But you won’t have to wait so long for the real competition to begin. This season isn’t about a race to the SEC championship. It’s about the race to 10-2.
You won’t read that on the SEC website. But let’s face it: Making the 12-team College Football Playoff now overshadows a conference championship.
As the nation’s premier conference, the SEC is loaded with playoff contenders. A 10-2 record just might be enough to qualify. That’s why I believe the conference has a shot at placing its champion and four at-large teams in the playoffs.
Since nine SEC teams have been ranked in preseason top 20s, all should be considered playoff contenders. The nine teams: Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas, and Texas A&M.
So, let’s look at their schedules through a playoff lens.
In some cases, I’m including pivotal nonconference games, which could carry just as much weight – and maybe more – when the playoff selection committee attempts to distinguish one candidate from another.
Alabama: It has a challenging path to the playoffs with games against Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri, LSU and Oklahoma. Only two of those games will be at home.
Georgia: The Bulldogs are the SEC favorite for good reason. But their schedule is anything but easy with games against Clemson, Alabama, Texas, Ole Miss and Tennessee. And only one of those games – against Tennessee – will be at Sanford Stadium.
LSU: Its key games are against Southern Cal, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Alabama, and Oklahoma. Of those five games, only one – against Texas A&M – will be on an opponent’s home field.
Oklahoma: The Sooners have the toughest schedule of the SEC teams ranked in preseason. They will play Tennessee, Texas, Ole Miss, Missouri, Alabama, and LSU. And four of their last five games are against playoff contenders.
Ole Miss: The Rebels favorable schedule will include games against only three playoff contenders – LSU, Oklahoma, and Georgia. The Oklahoma and Georgia games will be in Oxford.
Missouri: The Tigers also will play just three playoff contenders – Texas A&M, Alabama, and Oklahoma. The games against the Aggies and Tide will be on the road.
Tennessee: The Vols have a promising schedule with just three games against playoff contenders – Oklahoma, Alabama, and Georgia. Two of the three − Oklahoma and Georgia − are on the road.
Texas: The Longhorns schedule would be more inviting if they weren’t playing a September road game at Michigan. Their biggest SEC games will be against Oklahoma, Georgia, and Texas A&M.
Texas A&M: The Aggies also ramped up their schedule with a nonconference matchup at home against Notre Dame. Their toughest SEC games will be against Missouri, LSU and Texas.
All four games will be in College Station.
Based on those schedules, Oklahoma has the least likely chance to finish with a 10-2 or better record. Alabama probably has the next most difficult road to 10-2.
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Using the head-to-head matchups against playoff contenders, that still leaves seven SEC teams with a chance at a 10-2 record.You know that won’t happen because there will be upsets.
But if just five of those teams could avoid upsets, they could all qualify for the playoffs.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Why 5 SEC teams could make College Football Playoff. Just finish 10-2
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