First of all, don’t call me crazy. I’m in a dream state right now, writing this while you’re asleep imagining things that are 10 times as nuts as what I’m going to suggest.

What if the SEC got two teams in this year’s playoff?

Remember back on Nov. 12, 2012? The day we all thought we were dreaming when the College Football Playoff was officially approved, and the BCS nightmare was officially over? The question at that time was whether the playoff would promote more parity or more SEC dominance.

Of course, the SEC’s 7-year reign came to an end when Florida State won the 2013 national title, and Ohio State prevented the league from returning to the throne last season. Still, many had wondered whether the new system would open the door for more SEC representation, and there was merit to that.

I know it’s not the committee’s rankings, but let’s look at the last eight years of the BCS Era from 2006-13.

During that span, the SEC had multiple teams in the top 4 of the final BCS Standings — the one that was used to pick the national championship game — in five of those eight seasons. To put it more simply, there were only three seasons that the SEC didn’t have multiple teams in the top 4 of the same poll that plucked the two best teams to play for it all. The only three seasons were 2007, 2009 and 2010.

Here’s a breakdown of the top 4 in each of those seasons:

YEAR No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4
2006 Ohio State Florida Michigan LSU
2007 Ohio State LSU Virginia Tech Oklahoma
2008 Oklahoma Florida Texas Alabama
2009 Alabama Texas Cincinnati TCU
2010 Auburn Oregon TCU Stanford
2011 LSU Alabama Oklahoma State Stanford
2012 Notre Dame Alabama Florida Oregon
2013 Florida State Auburn Alabama Michigan State

Of the other Power 5 conferences, the Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12 only managed double representation once, while the ACC failed to do so. Plus, Alabama and LSU played for the national title in 2011.

Look, none of this is to argue that it will happen this season. The idea of two teams from the same conference making it in may be taboo for the playoff selection committee. This is only to show that there’s precedence for multiple SEC teams being in that position when it absolutely matters most.

As for this season, there’s a couple scenarios where it could happen.

  • If Alabama beats LSU on Nov. 7, and then both teams run the table.
  • LSU and Florida both make it in as one-loss teams after playing a rematch in the SEC Championship. The Gators would have to win, but the Tigers would have to keep it close.

In both cases, the league would need some undefeated teams from other conferences to fall in the process. We saw two of them go down in Utah and Florida State last weekend. If enough of them follow in their footsteps, you have to figure the SEC can get a step over most one-loss teams that aren’t named Ohio State.

What are the chances that all the necessary stars align? Don’t bet the house, or a bag of Doritos for that matter.

ZZZZZzzzzzz …