ESPN names SEC’s ‘last team in’ and ‘first team out’ of College Football Playoff
By Luke Greco
Published:
As we near the end of the college football season and head toward the College Football Playoff, ESPN has named its “last team in” and “first team out” in the SEC.
In this scenario, ESPN has deemed that Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina, and Tennessee are all out of the CFP. That leaves us with Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, and Texas A&M.
ESPN believes the first team out is the Texas Longhorns.
The Longhorns still have one of best remaining opportunities in the country to impress the selection committee when they face Texas A&M in the regular-season finale. If the committee drops Texas to the No. 13 spot Tuesday night just ahead of No. 14 Vandy, a playoff spot becomes a more realistic scenario. But if the committee drops the Longhorns out of the top 13, it could need more than a win against the Aggies to secure an at-large bid.
The last team in according to ESPN, is the Alabama Crimson Tide.
The loss to Oklahoma didn’t knock the Tide out in the latest projection, but it put Alabama in must-win mode and will keep them ranked behind the Sooners. The Tide have only one SEC loss and still have the best chance of any team to reach the conference championship game (71.9%), according to ESPN Analytics.
This means that Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M would all make it to the CFP in this scenario. The SEC would make up 5 of the 12 total teams in the CFP.
ESPN also has another title, “Still in the mix.” ESPN believes this team still has a shot but will need help from other SEC teams. This team is the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Vandy could still be stuck behind Texas because of its loss to the Longhorns, so the Commodores will need to beat both Kentucky and Tennessee and get some help to have a shot.
The new CFP Top 25 will be revealed Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
