College football Week 13 overreactions: The SEC has been painfully average, Indiana remains CFP lock

The SEC would have you believe that its very existence is justification enough for up to four College Football Playoff spots in perpetuity. It’s hard to deny that the SEC is a great league, and it has largely dominated on a national scale. Adding Texas and Oklahoma’s various exploits to its already sizable war chest is only increasing its profile. 

Regardless of how it may have performed in recent years, the SEC looks painfully average this season, with Week 13 outcomes stripping away any mystique it still had. 

Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas A&M all suffered disastrous defeats against unranked opponents on Saturday. With three losses apiece, the Crimson Tide and the Rebels are effectively out of the playoff race, no matter how hard their schedules may be. The Aggies still have a shot, but it will likely require an SEC championship. 

Don’t forget Tennessee lost to Arkansas, which is 3-4 in SEC play, earlier in the year. Nearly every top SEC team has at least one bad loss. Even No. 3 Texas, which advanced to 10-1, has failed the eye test over the past month and lost 30-15 to Georgia in its first game against a high-quality team.

This is a year when the SEC’s soft scheduling philosophy really hurts. Georgia’s Week 1 win over Clemson is the highlight of the nonconference results. Otherwise, Oklahoma’s win over Tulane may be the next best. Certainly not befitting of a league that fashions itself as head and shoulders above all others. 

The Big Ten has four 10-win teams. The ACC has two. The SEC has one. 

Don’t read this and think I’m saying the SEC is a bad conference. There’s an absurd amount of talent spread among its 16 teams. But it hasn’t performed like a league that deserves significantly more playoff spots than any other power…

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Author : Will Backus

Publish date : 2024-11-24 14:52:00

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