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Life has never been easy in the SEC, but it got a whole lot tougher in 2024 as the conference tried to grow and succeed at the same time. The league expanded with two blue bloods with the theory being the SEC could secure more spots in a larger College Football Playoff with Oklahoma and Texas strengthening the already-strong schedule. Instead, it backfired and the SEC ultimately fell short of preseason expectations.
Some believed the conference could land as many as five teams in the 12-team playoff, but teams beat up on each other and only secured three bids after contenders Alabama and Ole Miss recorded three losses.
Not all is lost, of course. The SEC can still win a national title, of course, but most teams fell short of lofty goals as the 16-team league experienced growing pains.
With the regular season in the rearview mirror, let’s take a look back at the season and grade each team — and contextualize their challenges — with our post-season grades for the SEC.
Alabama
Kalen DeBoer had the impossible task of following the greatest coach of all time. He won nine games and sweated out a spot in the playoff until Selection Sunday, when the committee opted for ACC runner-up SMU over the three-loss Tide. Alabama seemed so much better in spurts, but never quite capable of putting it all together for four quarters. They came close to proving worthy of consideration as the nation’s best team against Georgia, exploding to a 28-point lead, but then had to score a late touchdown to hold on for a 41-34 win…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/sec-grades-for-2024-season-texas-gets-b-in-first-season-florida-earns-a-for-navigating-tough-schedule/
Author : Brandon Marcello
Publish date : 2024-12-10 14:54:00
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