Going into Week 10, the SEC has six two-loss teams. Four of those teams play each other this weekend — Alabama at LSU and Texas at Missouri — so two more SEC teams will essentially be eliminated from College Football Playoff contention. However, it is rumored that an SEC team with three regular-season losses will make the CFP. That is absurd.
Yes, the SEC is the best conference in the country, although the Big 10 certainly has a case for that after winning three consecutive National Championships. Yes, SEC teams have some of the hardest schedules in the country.
This season, every SEC team was required to play nine other conference teams and one non-SEC Power Four opponent or Notre Dame. The new requirement has certainly led to a crazy season with lots of upsets and exciting weekends, but it may not give the conference more playoff bids this season.
Last season, the SEC sent five teams to the CFP. In 2025, four SEC teams were 7-1 in conference play — Georgia, Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas A&M — and three were 6-2 — Texas, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt. The first four plus Oklahoma qualified for the postseason.
Half of the conference is still alive for a playoff spot, but four teams could be eliminated this weekend with losses.
Ole Miss, aside from Georgia, has a relatively easy schedule the rest of the season. The Rebels have Oklahoma on the road and Wofford and Mississippi State at home. They will be favored in those matchups. If they take care of business against the Bulldogs, the Rebels will have a great shot at the CFP.
Several other SEC teams that are still in the hunt are not so lucky. Missouri has the second-hardest strength of schedule in remaining games with matchups against Texas at home, Georgia on the road and Kentucky at home.
LSU, with the third-hardest remaining schedule, will welcome Alabama and Texas to Death Valley in Weeks 10 and 11, respectively, before traveling to Tennessee. The Longhorns have Missouri and LSU remaining. Kentucky has a huge showdown against Tennessee this weekend, then will face Florida and Missouri.
The odds are that only three, maybe four, SEC teams will finish this season with one or two losses. Several of the teams currently vying for a postseason spot will end November with three losses.
Trinidad Chambliss throws the ball to Luke Hasz during the game against Auburn in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Oct. 31. Photo by Madison Twiddy
Succeeding in the CFP is the year in and year out goal for Ole Miss Football — though getting to the playoffs with three loses, which would likely come with controversy and fans claiming SEC bias, would not be the same.
I would be happy to see the Rebels play meaningful games in December and January for national glory no matter what, but any playoff team, Ole Miss included, needs to get there the right way. I cannot say that the CFP selection committee putting a three-loss team in the playoff is justifiable.
It just demeans the value of the playoffs and regular season. Should a three-loss SEC team really get into the postseason over a two-loss Big 12 or ACC team? No. The best teams with the best records get to compete for the National Championship.
Oftentimes, a team with a loss or two has a stronger schedule or better wins than another team and the committee honors that in their rankings. Yet, even that is controversial to many.
The first CFP rankings had one-loss Georgia over undefeated Utah and two-loss Texas over undefeated UCLA. Those decisions are already proving problematic with fans. The college football world would react the same way if a three-loss SEC team finds its way into the CFP, with discontent.
Last year, the Rebels finished the regular season 11-1. After defeating Oklahoma on the road, they left little to no doubt that they would qualify for the playoffs. The final SEC games of the season were nerve-racking since a loss could upset things, but Ole Miss did not slip.
The biggest drama surrounding the team a year ago was not whether it would qualify for the CFP. Instead, the narrative focused on a head coaching debacle. Matters have changed dramatically since then. The Rebels still control their destiny and have a good shot to achieve their goals this season.
According to The Rooting Guide, a website that provides chances of making the playoffs depending on what happens in various games every weekend, the Rebels currently have a 52.8% chance to make the playoffs. If they defeat Georgia, that leaps to 80.4%. With a loss, they fall to 29.5%.
Three-loss teams in a 24-team field makes sense; however, three-loss teams in a 12-team field is just silly. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey made his move to boost the conference’s CFP bids, but it should not work this year.
Next year is a different story. The 24-team CFP is not official yet, but it seems guaranteed at this point. Part of the new field requires teams to play “10 power-league games.” Purdue and West Virginia are already preparing for this change.
SEC teams already meet this requirement. The conference will have already used a similar format for a full season longer than every other conference.
