The SEC would have you believe that its very existence is justification enough for up to four College Football Playoff spots in perpetuity. It’s hard to deny that the SEC is a great league, and it has largely dominated on a national scale. Adding Texas and Oklahoma’s various exploits to its already sizable war chest is only increasing its profile.
Regardless of how it may have performed in recent years, the SEC looks painfully average this season, with Week 13 outcomes stripping away any mystique it still had.
Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas A&M all suffered disastrous defeats against unranked opponents on Saturday. With three losses apiece, the Crimson Tide and the Rebels are effectively out of the playoff race, no matter how hard their schedules may be. The Aggies still have a shot, but it will likely require an SEC championship.
Don’t forget Tennessee lost to Arkansas, which is 3-4 in SEC play, earlier in the year. Nearly every top SEC team has at least one bad loss. Even No. 3 Texas, which advanced to 10-1, has failed the eye test over the past month and lost 30-15 to Georgia in its first game against a high-quality team.
This is a year when the SEC’s soft scheduling philosophy really hurts. Georgia’s Week 1 win over Clemson is the highlight of the nonconference results. Otherwise, Oklahoma’s win over Tulane may be the next best. Certainly not befitting of a league that fashions itself as head and shoulders above all others.
The Big Ten has four 10-win teams. The ACC has two. The SEC has one.
Don’t read this and think I’m saying the SEC is a bad conference. There’s an absurd amount of talent spread among its 16 teams. But it hasn’t performed like a league that deserves significantly more playoff spots than any other power conference.
Indiana is still a CFP lock
Unless the Hoosiers choke against Purdue, they’re going to finish the year with an 11-1 record. If you’ve watched Purdue this year, you know it’s going to be hard for the Hoosiers to choke.
The fact that there are people questioning whether or not an 11-win Big Ten team should make a 12-team College Football Playoff is absurd, especially when you consider that other highly ranked teams are dropping like flies around the country.
Given the aforementioned SEC results, it almost feels like Indiana should be guaranteed a spot. For whom are they going to bounce the Hoosiers otherwise?
The whole strength of schedule argument doesn’t work without context. Entering Saturday’s slate, Indiana had the No. 6 strength of record, per ESPN’s FPI metric. That was ahead of teams like Alabama, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Notre Dame. It probably won’t drop too far in the wake of its Ohio State loss.
Indiana also did exactly what it had to do against a weaker schedule. The Hoosiers won each of their first 10 games by an average of 30.1 points. This shouldn’t be a debate: Indiana belongs.
Cam Skattebo is the nation’s most underrated player
It might be too late for him to work his way into the Heisman Trophy conversation, but Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo is one of the most important players in the entire nation. He is the figurehead of his team’s incredible turnaround under coach Kenny Dillingham.
Skattebo has the Sun Devils right in the thick of the Big 12 race just one year after they won three games. In a huge Week 13 victory against BYU, Skattebo had 28 carries for 147 yards and three of his team’s four touchdowns. He also continued his streak of five straight games with at least three catches.
Skattebo has rushed for at least 140 yards in five games this season. He has 460 yards and two scores through the air. Skattebo is a threat to score the ball anytime he touches it, but his impact goes well beyond the box score.
He has consistently done everything his coaches have asked of him at a high level. He’s lined up as a running back, wildcat quarterback, fullback and wide receiver. He’s even served as a punter in certain situations.
He is the heart and soul of an impressive Arizona State team, and he deserves some sort of award recognition as the year winds down.
Billy Napier is SEC Coach of the Year
Talk about incredible turnarounds. Florida coach Billy Napier entered the season on a scorching hot seat. Most assumed after the Gators’ 41-19 loss to Miami in Week 1 that it was a matter of when, not if, the university would make the decision to move on from him.
But after a relatively close loss to Georgia on Nov. 2, Florida’s athletic department reaffirmed its faith in Napier via a statement that drew plenty of derision. Admittedly, I was one of the detractors who — in this very column — said that the decision to stick with Napier would end in disaster.
Since then, the Gators have won two straight games against ranked opponents. They took a sledgehammer to Ole Miss’ playoff hopes Saturday, and despite playing with a banged-up secondary, picked off star Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart on consecutive drives to end the game.
Florida is now bowl eligible with one game remaining despite playing one of the hardest schedules in college football history. The Gators are set up very well for the future. Freshman quarterback DJ Lagway seems like a superstar in the making, and fellow first years like running back Jadan Baugh are dripping with potential. Napier’s done a phenomenal job given the circumstances. His arrow is definitely pointing up.
The ACC is going to have multiple playoff teams
This is a direct response to the SEC’s Saturday implosion. No conference is in a better position to benefit more than the ACC, which is probably licking its chops after watching Alabama and Ole Miss fall against unranked opponents.
It opens the door both Miami and SMU to make the playoff, regardless of what happens in the ACC Championship Game. Clemson, which closes the year with a chance to make a big impression against No. 19 South Carolina, is hanging around as well.
Obviously, the ACC champion is in no matter what. But an 11-2 ACC team — be it either the Hurricanes or Mustangs — will make the cut over a three-loss SEC team. Clemson at 10-2 would have a better case in a similar situation.
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