There are only two weeks left in the season. At this point, some playoff spots are spoken for, but there is still plenty up for grabs. This series continues to get you up-to-date on all the playoff scenarios across the league. This time we start with the SEC. Before breaking down this exciting race, here is a quick refresher on how the playoffs work.
How to Make the Playoffs
The top three teams from each conference will automatically earn a playoff spot. After that, there will be a league-wide vote on who the last four teams should be. If there is a tie within the top three teams, the following tiebreakers will be used (in order) to break the tie.
| Order | Tiebreaker |
| 1 | Conference Record |
| 2 | Head-to-Head |
| 3 | Record vs common conference opponents |
| 4 | Point differential vs common conference opponents |
| 5 | Record vs common overall opponents |
| 6 | Point differential vs common overall opponents |
| 7 | Overall record |
| 8 | Overall point differential |
SEC Standings
| Rank | Team | Overall Record | Conference Record |
| 1 | Auburn | 6-0 | 4-0 |
| 2 | LSU | 5-1 | 4-1 |
| 3 | Alabama | 4-2 | 2-2 |
| 4 | Georgia | 3-3 | 2-2 |
| 5 | Kentucky | 4-2 | 2-2 |
| 6 | Florida | 1-5 | 1-3 |
| 7 | Tennessee | 0-6 | 0-5 |
Auburn is the CFSL’s only unbeaten team and they are in a prime spot because of it. They haven’t punched their ticket yet, but they can this coming week. If Auburn beats Georgia, then not only does Auburn punch their playoff ticket, but they will also clinch the SEC title.
LSU sits in second place in the conference with key wins over some of the teams trailing them. LSU is very close to punching their playoff ticket. There is still a small chance that they get locked into the tie below them and then the tiebreakers would get wild. (Can you imagine a 4-way tie for second place?) However, if LSU beats Kentucky this weekend they will punch their ticket and lock up second place in the conference.
This is where things get interesting. Alabama, Kentucky, and Georgia are all tied at 2-2 in conference play. To make it more complicated, they are stuck in a win triangle. Alabama beat Georgia and lost to Kentucky, but Kentucky also lost to Georgia. That means the tie has to be broken by points against common conference opponents. Right now, Alabama holds that tiebreaker, and Georgia is second behind them.
If this tie were to hold, The Crimson Tide would have a distinct advantage. They have a +24-point differential against conference opponents. Georgia is +6 and Kentucky is +3. However, that can obviously change a lot in the next two weeks. Also, keep in mind that if one team falls behind and this becomes a two-way tie, then whoever won the head-to-head would win the tiebreaker.
None of these teams control their destiny and all three are stuck in this link until one or more teams lose (unless all three lose, which would put us right back to square one). This coming week Alabama heads to Florida, Kentucky hosts LSU, and Georgia hosts Auburn. So all three teams need to 1) win, 2) score a lot, and 3) pray the team they lost to already loses. This is going to be a fun one to watch.
Florida is still alive in this playoff race. Right now, the Gators have yet to play Alabama or Georgia. If Florida wins out, they will jump both teams. Getting ahead of Kentucky will be trickier. Florida lost to Kentucky earlier this season. That means the Gators can’t win a 2-way tie with Kentucky. If Kentucky loses both of their next two games and Florida wins, the Gators will clinch a playoff spot.
There is a possibility that Florida could also get in with a 3-way or 4-way tie. However, Florida has a -58 point differential in the conference, so they would need to win by A LOT in the next two weeks for that to happen.
If Florida loses this week to Alabama their chances at an automatic bid would die.
Tennessee has played themselves out of automatic bid contention. There is always a chance to make the vote-in, but even convincing wins over Syracuse and Kentucky likely wouldn’t be enough.
