ESPN’s Heather Dinich includes 4 SEC teams in new CFP projection after Week 7
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The SEC went through a heck of a cannibalization ritual in Week 7. Four of the conference’s five highest-ranked teams suffered defeat on Saturday, giving every member school a loss just over halfway through the 2026 campaign.
The chaos made predicting a College Football Playoff bracket a bit difficult for ESPN’s Heather Dinich. She persisted, though, and churned out her newest set of projections early Sunday morning. The prominent CFP reporter has four SEC teams in her top 12, including two new institutions:
- No. 6 Georgia Bulldogs
- No. 7 Ole Miss Rebels
- No. 9 Kentucky Wildcats
- No. 10 Tennessee Volunteers
While Georgia and Ole Miss have been mainstays in CFP predictions since the offseason, Kentucky and Tennessee are new blood. The Wildcats (6-1, 4-1 SEC) already have three conference road wins under their belts, while the Volunteers (6-1, 3-1 SEC) have only a loss to Texas on their ledger.
“The biggest difference between Kentucky and Tennessee right now is the significant gap in their schedule strength,” Dinich wrote. “The Wildcats have been one of the top five teams in the country in ESPN’s strength of record metric and in strength of schedule.”
Dinich admitted the Vols’ victory over Alabama — a Crimson Tide team that throttled the Wildcats 45-17 in Week 2 — could propel Tennessee in front of Kentucky. The SEC’s four predicted CFP participants are the most of any conference.
