College football is going through a period of change and nobody knows exactly how the College Football Playoff committee is going to evaluate for spots in the expanded 12-team field.
The new format comes at a time when the SEC is the deepest and most competitive it has been in years. Six teams have a genuine case for a spot. However, not everyone will get in and it’s extremely likely that someone who is deserving is going to get left out.
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin, who has his team at 8-2, cannot suffer another loss.
He recently weighed the pros and cons of making the SEC Championship and said that a number of coaches in the league don’t even want to make the game.
“I’ve talked to other coaches, so I’ll just kind of give you the feeling from some other coaches. They don’t want to be in it,” Kiffin said. “You know, the reward to get a bye [in the CFP] versus the risk to get knocked out completely. I mean…that’s a really big risk….I think it has ended up being a very unique situation of all postseason sports, the way that system is set up there.”
“How you could go to [the SEC Championship] and get knocked out [of the CFP race]? And if you don’t go [to the SEC Championship game], you’re in.”
Kiffin explained that while the expanded format is good for the game, it ultimately comes at a cost.
“There’s a cost and benefit to everything,” Kiffin said. “There are great benefits to this playoff system and so many people being excited and fans and programs and more games, and then there’s cost, too. The conference championships don’t mean as much.”
Nobody knows exactly how the committee would treat an SEC team that suffers a third loss in the conference championship game. Many are concerned that a team with such a record could be kicked out in favor of a two-loss team that didn’t make the game.
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.
