ESPN’s Heather Dinich includes 5 SEC teams in new CFP projection after Week 8
Published:
The three highest ranked teams in the SEC lost their games in Week 7 of the 2026 college football season. In Week 8, the Big 12 experienced the sport’s ebbs and flows, with two of its three remaining undefeated teams suffering their first defeats.
For now, yesterday’s developments are the SEC’s gain. In her latest College Football Playoff projection, ESPN’s Heather Dinich has SEC schools holding down the final three at-large spots in her field. Those squads — the Kentucky Wildcats, Texas Longhorns and Ole Miss Rebels — sit alongside the Georgia Bulldogs in Dinich’s 12-team bracket.
Shockingly, the Wildcats (7-1, 5-1 SEC) are in the best active position amongst the conference’s bubble teams. The Longhorns and Rebels, who each have two losses, edged out fellow two-loss conference mate LSU for the last two bids in Dinich’s prediction.
“The Tigers might have been written off more in the court of public opinion than in the committee meeting room,” Dinich said about her No. 12 team. “LSU has a bye week to prepare for its season-defining stretch against three straight ranked opponents… ESPN’s FPI gives LSU at least a 50% chance to win each of its remaining games.”
Lane Kiffin’s squad is on the outside of Dinich’s projection because the highest-ranked Group of Six team — currently Boise State — slides in front of them for the auto-berth. LSU and Alabama battle in what amounts to a CFP elimination game on Nov. 7.
