This we know about the SEC’s chances of playing for a fourth consecutive national championship: There won’t be any wiggle room this season.
If Alabama wins its next two games -- at Auburn and against Florida in the SEC championship game -- the Crimson Tide will head to Pasadena to play for their first national title in 17 years.
If Florida wins its next two games -- home against Florida State and against Alabama in the SEC championship game -- the Gators will head to Pasadena to play for their third national title in the past four years.
There really isn’t an in-between for the two teams. If either slips up this week, they can forget about the BCS National Championship equation.
If they both win this week, the SEC championship game on Dec. 5 becomes a play-in game for the BCS National Championship Game on Jan. 7
Unlike the past three years, it’s highly unlikely that a one-loss SEC champion would be high enough in the polls to finish in the top two of the final BCS standings -- not with the top six teams in the BCS standings this week all unbeaten.
For a one-loss SEC team to have any chance this year, some combination of two teams at the top of the BCS standings would have to lose. For instance, Texas and TCU, or maybe TCU and Cincinnati.
And then you would get into the Boise State factor and whether an unbeaten Boise State team would pass a one-loss SEC champion.
If Alabama wins its next two games -- at Auburn and against Florida in the SEC championship game -- the Crimson Tide will head to Pasadena to play for their first national title in 17 years.
If Florida wins its next two games -- home against Florida State and against Alabama in the SEC championship game -- the Gators will head to Pasadena to play for their third national title in the past four years.
There really isn’t an in-between for the two teams. If either slips up this week, they can forget about the BCS National Championship equation.
If they both win this week, the SEC championship game on Dec. 5 becomes a play-in game for the BCS National Championship Game on Jan. 7
Unlike the past three years, it’s highly unlikely that a one-loss SEC champion would be high enough in the polls to finish in the top two of the final BCS standings -- not with the top six teams in the BCS standings this week all unbeaten.
For a one-loss SEC team to have any chance this year, some combination of two teams at the top of the BCS standings would have to lose. For instance, Texas and TCU, or maybe TCU and Cincinnati.
And then you would get into the Boise State factor and whether an unbeaten Boise State team would pass a one-loss SEC champion.
- ESPN.com SEC blogger
- Joined ESPN.com in 2007
- Wrote for The (Nashville) Tennessean
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Chris Low
Low joined ESPN.com in 2007 after 10 years with The (Nashville) Tennessean covering the University of Tennessee and SEC. The Rock Hill, S.C., native lives with his wife in Knoxville and has three sons.
Edward Aschoff
Aschoff joined ESPN.com in 2011 after spending four years covering the University of Florida for The Gainesville Sun. He grew up in Oxford, Miss., before attending UF, graduating with a B.S. in journalism.
SEC TEAM COVERAGE
RECRUITING NATION
Florida: GatorNation
Follow everything Florida at GatorNation: Florida Gators football, basketball, news, recruiting and more.
• GatorNation | Blog | RecruitingNation
RECRUITING NATION
Georgia: DawgNation
Follow everything Georgia at DawgNation: Georgia Bulldogs football, basketball, news, recruiting and more.
• DawgNation | Blog | RecruitingNation
You must be signed in to post a comment