How SEC could rule first round of the CFP

The SEC is coming.

With the College Football Playoff first-round only two weeks away — the first game is Friday, Dec. 19 — the field is close to being set, and the SEC might just be two results away from ruling the opening weekend of the 12-team playoff.

CFP first-round might be held exclusively in SEC country

With a second win this season by No. 9 Alabama (10-2) over No. 3 Georgia (11-1, 7-1 in SEC) in the SEC championship game on Saturday (4 p.m. ET, ABC), the conference could be in line to host the four first-round playoff games, as long as No. 4 Texas Tech (11-1, 8-1 in Big 12) also wins Saturday's Big 12 championship (12 p.m. ET, ABC).

In that scenario, No. 5 Oregon (11-1, 8-1 in Big Ten) would likely move into the top four while SEC teams would populate Nos. 5-8. The committee's biggest debate could be whether Georgia or No. 8 Oklahoma (10-2, 6-2 in SEC) hosts a first-round playoff game. The Sooners beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa earlier this season, while the Bulldogs went 2-0 against No. 6 Ole Miss (11-1, 7-1 in SEC) and No. 13 Texas Longhorns (9-3, 6-2 in SEC), the two teams that beat Oklahoma.

In 2024, the SEC, where it purportedly "just means more," played a lesser role in the playoff; only three teams (Georgia, Texas and Tennessee) qualified for the inaugural 12-team field. The conference went 2-3, with the Longhorns claiming both wins and the Vols and Bulldogs each losing by double digits.

The SEC should leave a much bigger imprint on 2025. Last season, home teams in the CFP first-round games went 4-0. All four went on to win their quarterfinals, which could be harder to replicate after the CFP decision-makers amended the playoff structure by rewarding the four best teams with byes as opposed to the top four conference champions.

But for a conference that dominated the sport for 20 years — claiming 14 national titles from 2003-22 — 2025 has been a bit of a return to form for the SEC after failing to place a team in the championship game the last two seasons. Among the conferences, it will have the most eggs in the CFP basket. All it needs is for one to hatch.