ESPN analyst projects 6 SEC teams to reach College Football Playoff
By David Wasson
Published:
ESPN college football analyst Heather Dinich has checked in with her College Football Playoff participant predictions after Week 6 action, and she has 7 teams from the Southeastern Conference in her projected CFP top 12. Dinich, though, only has 6 of those teams in her CFP bracket thanks to the 5 highest-ranked conference champions earning Playoff bids.
Dinich, who lists the Miami Hurricanes as her No. 1 overall seed for the 12-team CFP bracket, starts her SEC-centric list with the Texas A&M Aggies at No. 4. The 5-0 Aggies got past Mississippi State 31-9 last weekend, and welcome Florida to College Station on Saturday night (7 pm, ESPN).
The 5-0 Ole Miss Rebels check in at No. 5 on Dinich’s list on the strength of a 24-19 home victory against then-No. 4 LSU two weeks ago. Ole Miss hosts Washington State on Saturday afternoon (12:45 pm, SEC Network).
Dinich slots the 4-1 Alabama Crimson Tide at No. 6 on her list – as the Crimson Tide are on a 4-game winning streak that includes home victories over then-No. 5 Georgia and then-No. 16 Vanderbilt. Alabama travels to play No. 14 Missouri on Saturday (noon ET, ABC).
The 5-0 Oklahoma Sooners are No. 7 on Dinich’s list, having downed Kent State 44-0 last weekend behind the play of backup quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. The Sooners may still be without starting QB John Mateer (hand) when they play Texas on Saturday in the Red River Shootout (3:30 pm, ABC).
Dinich slots the 4-1 Georgia Bulldogs at No. 8. Georgia rebounded from its loss at Alabama 2 weeks ago by thumping visiting Kentucky 35-14 last weekend. The Bulldogs travel to play rival Auburn this Saturday night (7:30 pm, ABC).
The SEC portion of Dinich’s CFP top 12 is completed by a pair of teams – the Tennessee Volunteers at No. 11 and the LSU Tigers at No. 12. Tennessee (4-1) was idle last week and play host to Arkansas on Saturday (4:15 pm, SEC Network). LSU (4-1) was also idle last week, and hosts South Carolina on Saturday (7:45 pm, SEC Network).
Though Dinich has LSU at No. 12 in her CFP rankings, her bracket has Memphis as the No. 12 seed to make the CFP as the champion of the American, guaranteeing a bid.
Here is Dinich’s projected CFP bracket:
- Miami
- Ohio State
- Oregon
- Texas A&M
- Ole Miss
- Alabama
- Oklahoma
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Texas Tech
- Tennessee
- Memphis (American champion over No. 12 LSU)
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
