Three SEC Team Playoff

[Swamped Gator]

I know speculating this early is foolish but it's the bye week so we might as well talk about something. What would the playoff committee do if the following occurred?

1) LSU wins out and beats Bama in a very close and competitive game. This could get even more interesting if Tua can't play in this game due to his ankle injury. Can you leave a one loss Bama out of the playoff, particularly if their one loss comes against the #1 team in the country in a very competitive game without Tua?

AND

2) Florida wins out and beats LSU in the SEC championship game.

You'd have Florida, Bama, and LSU all with only one loss and those losses would be considered quality losses. You could make a very strong argument that all three of those teams would deserve to be in the playoff. This gets messy if OU, OSU, and Clemson all win out. At that point you probably can only take one out of those three SEC teams. It would be very interesting to see what the committee would do.

 

[PCGatorAlum]

I know speculating this early is foolish but it's the bye week so we might as well talk about something. What would the playoff committee do if the following occurred?

1) LSU wins out and beats Bama in a very close and competitive game. This could get even more interesting if Tua can't play in this game due to his ankle injury. Can you leave a one loss Bama out of the playoff, particularly if their one loss comes against the #1 team in the country in a very competitive game without Tua?

AND

2) Florida wins out and beats LSU in the SEC championship game.

You'd have Florida, Bama, and LSU all with only one loss and those losses would be considered quality losses. You could make a very strong argument that all three of those teams would deserve to be in the playoff. This gets messy if OU, OSU, and Clemson all win out. At that point you probably can only take one out of those three SEC teams. It would be very interesting to see what the committee would do.

Oh it would really be simple for the committee they would take Bama. Not for any good reason though.

 

[Swamped Gator]

Oh it would really be simple for the committee they would take Bama. Not for any good reason though.

Most likely..

 

[CaribGator]

Add to the intrigue, your scenario plus everyone but Clemson takes a bad loss, then clemson and the 3 sec teams are in, oh the SEC haters will be jumping off bridges.

 

[soflagator]

I think zero is more likely this year than 3.

There are 6 teams realistically still alive for the SEC, three on each side. We're over the halfway mark, only two remain without a loss, so only one team can make Atlanta undefeated. And none have squared off head to head. So beginning this weekend, these teams will begin cannibalizing themselves, and it's not out of the real of possibility that a 2 loss UF, uga, or Aub could be in the SECCG. From there, it's a 60 minute contest and who knows. But I don't think a 2-loss SEC Champ gets in this year automatically.

It's not like much of the last decade, where it was the Tide and then everyone else. Or them, uga and everyone else. There are legit teams on both sides that could cause problems and the top tier teams aren't as distanced from the field. If there was ever a year for potential chaos in the conference this may be it.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

You'd have Florida, Bama, and LSU all with only one loss and those losses would be considered quality losses. You could make a very strong argument that all three of those teams would deserve to be in the playoff. .

No. In that scenario, Bammer lost in the first round of the playoff and LSU lost in round two.

Champions only. You should have to be a champion to be eligible for the NC.

You people are disgusting.

 

[EyeDocGator]

You'd have Florida, Bama, and LSU all with only one loss and those losses would be considered quality losses. You could make a very strong argument that all three of those teams would deserve to be in the playoff. This gets messy if OU, OSU, and Clemson all win out. At that point you probably can only take one out of those three SEC teams. It would be very interesting to see what the committee would do.

Agree. If OU, OSU, and Clemson finish undefeated they will go to the playoffs. In that case, the only SEC team to go will be the SEC champion. If one of those teams loses a game, I think a one-loss SEC non-champion team will go.

 

[PCGatorAlum]

Agree. If OU, OSU, and Clemson finish undefeated they will go to the playoffs. In that case, the only SEC team to go will be the SEC champion. If one of those teams loses a game, I think a one-loss non-SEC champion team will go.

Bama has won the CFP before without winning the SEC

 

[BMF]

I've said this for years: the SEC should add 2 more teams, go to 4 team divisions, have a 4-team playoff w/ each Division winner, the the winners of those two games play for the "National Championship". Let the other 12 teams play in bowls. That would piss off the entire country! And the SEC would make a fortune off of it!

 

[Bait'n Gator]

In your scenario I believe it would be.

1) OSU
2)OU
3)UF
4)LSU no matter if Clemson is undefeated or not just because fck them and that shyt schedule.
5)Bama
6)Clemson

Where I think it gets real tricky and hopefully happens to shake things up is to have your scenario plus Clemson is undefeated ACC champ. OSU is one loss Big 10 champ, OU is one loss Big 12 Champ and Oregon is 1 loss Pac 12 champ.

You'd have:

1 loss UF SEC champ
1 loss LSU
1 loss Bama
O loss Clemson
1 loss OSU conf champ
1 loss OU conf champ
1 loss Oregon conf champ

Can you imagine the rest of the country if the playoff were

UF
LSU
Bama
OSU

It'd be great but Bama with a healthy Tua would most likely win.

 

[T REX]

Bama has won the CFP before without winning the SEC

I don't even think they won their division that year

 

[Swamp Donkey]

I don't even think they won their division that year

And it should never happen again.

 

[soflagator]

And it should never happen again.

It is a little odd because they never even had a chance to redeem themselves after the ugly loss to finish. Even in '96, we lost a close game and then blew out Alabama in the SECCG. They didn't even do that.

The playoff committee: When did we last see them?

Answer: Losing to Auburn

PC: When was that?

Answer: About 45 minutes ago.

PC: Ok, what happened to Auburn?

Answer: They won the Division and went to Atlanta?

PC: The outcome?

Answer: Got smoked.

PC: What do we know about this Alabama?

Answer: One dimensional, starter can't throw, Hawaiian on the bench.

PC: Could this Hawaiian come in and throw a TD strike to win it all and crush uga?

Answer: Only if it's like 2nd and long.

PC to Alabama:

 

[Thick&ThinG8r]

If three SEC teams made it, get ready for an 8 team playoff.

 

[SeabeeGator]

@Swamp Donkey is wrong as usual. Put the 4 best teams in. Conference championships are just another game. Doesn’t necessarily have the best team from the conference in it. If there were no divisions and the top 2 teams played, I’d agree but that’s not the current model.

 

[GatorInGeorgia]

In your scenario, assuming the 3 non-SEC teams all win out then the one loss SEC champ (Florida from your scenario) gets in.

If one of the 3 non-SEC teams loses one game, then I think Bama would definitely be left out and LSU would possibly (but not definitely) be the 4th team in. My reasoning is that Bama’s loss would be to the SEC runner up, not the SEC champ and we would have avenged our only loss to win the conference title. There would be no justification for including a non-conference champ & non-division champ, 1 loss Bama when you have a non-conference champ but division champ, 1 loss LSU that beat Bama on the field. A case could also be made to leave LSU out with only one loss in the SECCG, but that would depend on several other factors such as how bad their loss to us is, what do other non-SEC teams that won their conference look like, etc.

Bottom line, though, is I still don’t think LSU is going to make it to Atlanta. Their chances have improved with the injury to Tua but I still think they’ll find a way to fcvk it up.

 

[ThreatMatrix]

I posed this last night in the chat. Not only the possibility of three in a four team playoff. But imagine if they went to eight team playoffs. We could see three and four sec teams in the playoffs. Who da fug wants that?
Eight teams solve nothing.

 

[BadowGator]

I honestly can’t see how they couldn’t put at least LSU and Florida in if Florida faces them in the SECCG and wins. There would have to be a rubber match. Essentially 1v2 with their only losses to each other. That’s my dream scenario. And not too far fetched.

 

[BadowGator]

It’s also still possible that we face Auburn again. However unlikely, with LSU, Ugay and bama left. But, still a possibility. For the first time in a very long time. I feel we are the best team to face whichever west opponent gets there.

 

[Gatorbreath]

It is a pity our schedule is comparatively weak this season. Two FCS schools, downright awful scUM, Chugger and Clown squads, always bad Vandy and weaker than expected KY and Mizzou. Cocky never scares anyone since SOS left. That leaves Barn and Corndog as high quality wins, and the Humpers, too, I guess, even after their embarrassing loss followed by near miss with KY. And the SECCG.

Not exactly a Murderer's Row with a lot of ammo for Gator haters like Herbie out there.