The Inaugural 12-Team Playoff Could Be Spoiled By The SEC

The 2024 College Football season is entering a new era of postseason play; however, it could be the continuation of a system proving that postseason play will never be perfect. The College Football Playoff will be expanded from four teams to 12 teams. This is a statement that many more teams deserve a fair shot at a national title. The 2017 UCF Knights, the 2023 Georgia Bulldogs, and the 2023 Florida State Seminoles believe they should’ve been selected over certain teams.

In the past, the four-team playoff and the BCS system have favored SEC teams. The expansion of the college football playoff is supposedly a cure for conference bias. That idea, however, can easily fail as there will always be a better conference overall, like the SEC. The SEC will always cause controversies in the sport, and the new addition of Oklahoma and Texas will only amplify them.

This college football season could be the latest example that no matter what postseason system to crown the national championship, there will always be controversy. The SEC could cause more disgruntled fans and media by potentially adding four teams in the playoffs.

The Inaugural 12-Team Playoff Could Be Spoiled By The SEC

Who From The SEC Could Make A Championship Run

Many teams will be labeled serious contenders for the new 12-team College Football Team system. Among the many competitors in the preseason could come from the SEC. Six teams immediately come to mind as legitimate playoff contenders. Four of them are projected to get in several different media outlets, although, not all are in the same brackets. The Alabama Crimson Tide, the Georgia Bulldogs, the Ole Miss Rebels, and the Texas Longhorns are all teams that can seriously make the playoff system altogether.

At least one team has to win the SEC Conference Championship. The loser of the championship game will likely go to the playoff as an at-large bid. With the SEC no longer having divisions, the top three or top four teams will likely be close to each other in the top 25. All four teams have legitimate odds and great rosters to make the playoffs. Each team has a great quarterback leading their team and a well-respected head coach leaving their team, three of them being former Nick Saban assistants. Ironically, Nick Saban will not be coaching the Alabama Crimson Tide, but that doesn't seem to bother most college football media.

The Big Ten Could Also Ruin The 12-Team Playoff System

The only other conference that can legitimately claim a 12-team selection is the Big Ten. The addition of USC, Oregon, UCLA, and Washington should strengthen the conference. Ohio State, the reigning national champs in Michigan, Penn State, and three of the four former Pac-12 teams have legitimate claims to make a playoff system appearance.

The reason that other conferences cannot be able to replicate this success from the SEC and the Big Ten going back to the BCS era, consistency is a factor. The Big 12 continues juggling teams from other conferences like the AAC and the Pac-12 while losing several key members like Texas and Oklahoma. The ACC is in danger of potentially losing Florida State and Clemson. The Pac-12 is no longer in consideration. Finally, non-automatic qualifying conferences can't compete with the top conferences. The 2017 UCF Knights can complain all they want, but it is their conference’s lack of consistency which is why they were out. The only thing that could have made a legitimate argument was the 2021 Cincinnati Bearcats, who did give Alabama a fight but ended up losing by 14 points and the semifinals. Boise State had perfect seasons in 2006 and 2009 but failed to replicate that same success on a bigger stage despite preseason hopes and odds to accomplish this.

The fact remains that the top conferences like the SEC and Big Ten will control the landscape of college football until teams from the remaining conferences can consistently challenge them. If Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, and Texas all make the College Football Playoff expect noise but it is all part of the game.

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