ESPN analyst breaks down the SEC’s College Football Playoff bubble entering Week 8
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The AP Poll and SEC standings received a major shake-up in Week 7, courtesy of big upsets in Athens, Austin and Knoxville. All the chaos has given the conference nearly a dozen College Football Playoff contenders heading into late October, though, setting up some incredibly impactful matchups in the weeks ahead.
ESPN’s Heather Dinich took a look at the SEC’s CFP bubble on Tuesday. She believes Georgia is still the conference’s top team, even with its loss to Auburn, but has the Bulldogs at No. 5 in her projected bracket.
Behind Georgia, Dinich has the Ole Miss Rebels, Kentucky Wildcats and Tennessee Volunteers as CFP participants. That means Florida, Texas, Alabama — her “enigma” — and LSU are on the outside looking in.
Here’s Dinich’s analysis on Alabama:
Are the Crimson Tide really in trouble, or was that an injury-riddled anomaly? Trying to get into the playoff with multiple losses isn’t unusual… the Tide sneaked in last year with three losses… [but their] margin for error is almost nonexistent now… ESPN’s FPI projects the Tide to lose at LSU on Nov. 7, and that could be an elimination game.
According to Dinich, Mississippi State, Missouri and Auburn remain on the fringes of the CFP chase. That leaves five SEC programs — Oklahoma, Texas A&M, South Carolina, Arkansas and Vanderbilt — out of the race entirely, in her estimation.
Alabama fights to stay in the running vs. Texas A&M on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC).
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