What a 12-team B1G/SEC Playoff bracket would’ve looked like this year
By Adam Spencer
Published:
The 12-team College Football Playoff kicks off on Friday with the No. 8 seed Oklahoma Sooners hosting the No. 9 seed Alabama Crimson Tide.
The Playoff bracket we got this year is a great one, even if those in South Bend don’t necessarily agree. But what if the nation’s top 2 conferences — the Big Ten and the SEC — had their own 12-team Playoff this year?
Big Ten supporters and SEC fans frequently clash over “hypothetical” matchups, so why not throw an entire hypothetical Playoff bracket on the fire to stoke things?
First, some methodology:
- The highest-ranked conference champion got the No. 1 seed (Indiana). The second-highest-ranked conference champ (Georgia) got the No. 2 seed.
- I gave the league runners-up (Ohio State and Alabama) the 3- and 4-seeds, respectively, with the Buckeyes getting the 3-seed by virtue of being ranked higher than the Tide.
- From there, I just slotted the remaining 4 B1G teams and 4 SEC teams into their seed lines based on the final CFP rankings, making sure we had 6 teams from each conference.
There, now let’s take a look at how the hypothetical bracket would look for this year:
Those seeds, in case anyone is unclear with anything, are as follows:
- No. 1 — Indiana
- No. 2 — Georgia
- No. 3 — Ohio State
- No. 4 — Alabama
- No. 5 — Oregon
- No. 6 — Ole Miss
- No. 7 — Texas A&M
- No. 8 — Oklahoma
- No. 9 — Texas
- No. 10 — USC
- No. 11 — Michigan
- No. 12 — Iowa
Poor Vanderbilt gets left out again as the 7th-highest-ranked team out of the SEC. Diego Pavia would probably have something to say about that.
Which non-top 4 team has the easiest draw?
No surprise here, but Oregon is the team that has the best draw. As the 5-seed, the Ducks get to face an Iowa team they already beat. But this time, the game would be in Eugene. It wouldn’t figure to be as easy of a first-round matchup as Oregon’s actual Round 1 matchup this year (against James Madison), but still one the Ducks should win comfortably.
From there, the Ducks would play an Alabama squad that is deeply flawed on offense. Ty Simpson couldn’t take care of the ball down the stretch and the running game is nonexistent. I’d favor the Ducks by at least a touchdown against the Tide.
Which top-4 team benefits most from this setup?
This is actually a bit of an easier potential path for No. 1 seed Indiana than the actual Playoff bracket. Instead of potentially having to face Texas Tech in the semifinals, the Hoosiers would have a chance to play the aforementioned flawed Alabama squad or an Oregon team they already beat this year (in Eugene, no less).
Like in the real CFP bracket, the Hoosiers wouldn’t have to play either Georgia or Ohio State (again) until the championship game. That’s pretty favorable.
Which team is on Round 1 upset alert?
It’s tough to make heads or tails of the Ole Miss-Michigan matchup, where both programs are embroiled in coaching upheaval and controversy.
I’ll stay away from that game, especially since the Round 1 upset most likely to happen has… already happened.
Oklahoma hosts Alabama in the real Playoff bracket. The way this hypothetical tournament plays out, the Sooners have to welcome rival Texas to Norman.
Texas, of course, already took down the Sooners this year, winning 23-6 at the Cotton Bowl. The caveat there is that Oklahoma QB John Mateer was only a few days removed from surgery on his thumb and was rendered ineffective and turnover-prone by the aggressive Texas defense.
Yes, this game would be in Norman and yes, Mateer figures to be healthier, but that’s a tough Round 1 draw for the Sooners, who would rather see an Alabama squad they already beat in Tuscaloosa this season on the opposing sideline.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
