By: Ryan Moreland (@ryanmoreland)
The SEC provided us with the most exciting conference playoff race last season and they are looking to do the same this season. Just 2 games separate 2nd place and 6th place, with three weeks left to play. But, before we dig into the Southeastern Conference let’s refresh our memories on how teams make the playoffs.
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 |
Conference Standings
| Rank | Team | Overall Record | Conference Record |
| 1 | Auburn | 5-0 | 3-0 |
| 2 | LSU | 4-1 | 3-1 |
| 3 | Kentucky | 4-1 | 2-1 |
| 4 | Alabama | 3-2 | 2-2 |
| 5 | Georgia | 2-3 | 1-2 |
| 6 | Florida | 1-4 | 1-2 |
| 7 | Tennessee | 0-5 | 0-4 |
Auburn is the only unbeaten team left in the CFSL and they are firmly in control of their route to the playoffs and the conference championship. They will have a big test this week as they face Kentucky. A win over the Wildcats will put Auburn a fraction of an inch away from clinching. A loss would see them fall out of the first-place spot in the conference.
LSU has had a fantastic season so far this season and they are setting in 2nd place in the SEC as a result. Much like Auburn, the Tigers cannot punch their ticket this week, but they can put themselves very close to clinching. That is assuming they get the win over Florida this week.
Kentucky fell from its pedestal after losing to Georgia but bounced back with an impressive win over Alabama. Now the Wildcats have a chance to steal back the top spot in the SEC. If they beat Auburn this week they will jump the Tigers in the rankings. However, they won’t take over the top spot unless LSU is to lose as well.
Alabama is currently in fourth place with losses to both LSU and Kentucky. This makes getting into the top 3 difficult since they would lose the tiebreakers to 2nd and 3rd place. However, If Kentucky beats Auburn this week then Alabama will control its own destiny. All they would need to do is beat Tennessee and Auburn and they would earn an automatic bid. If Auburn wins, Alabama will be looking for more help or relying on the vote-in.
Unlike Alabama, Georgia will be rooting for Kentucky to lose this week. The Bulldogs hold a tiebreaker over the Wildcats thanks to their win last week. Unless things change drastically, that tiebreaker will be paramount to Georgia getting into the top three.
Florida is faced with a must-win game this week. If they lose to LSU then the best they could hope is to tie the top three teams and they would lose all three tiebreakers. If the Gators lose this week their search for an automatic bid comes to a close.
Tennessee has already been mathematically eliminated from automatic bid contention. There is always a chance of a vote-in if the Volunteers can win out. However, even that may not be enough.
