Preseason SEC bowl projections: 2 for the Playoff again?

The big question right off the bat: Will there be two SEC teams in the College Football Playoff again in 2018?

Alabama and Georgia kicked up their SEC rivalry another notch in 2017, giving us a CFP final for the ages when the Crimson Tide claimed another national title by coming from behind to top the Bulldogs 26-23 in overtime.

So it seems logical that those are the teams to beat both in the conference and in the nation as we project the bowls for the 2018 college football season.

But why not shake up the order a bit elsewhere? Programs like Clemson and Ohio State have proven to be perennial national title contenders since the CFP format began in the 2014 season. But they have contenders in their own conferences hot on their heels. This could be the time for teams like Miami and Penn State to become the new kings of their leagues and snatch a spot in the CFP picture.

Last year, four SEC programs finished with losing record and a fifth, Ole Miss, was ineligible for a bowl. So while there was glory at the top for America’s best conference, one could argue that the league was not as deep as in previous seasons and as a result only nine SEC teams made the postseason.

The projection here for 2018 is that 11 of the league’s 14 teams will qualify for bowls. Ole Miss is serving the second year of its postseason ban. Vanderbilt and Arkansas are in prove-it mode. Tennessee, on the heels of its first eight-loss season in school history and first 0-8 SEC mark, is back in the postseason picture for now because … well, the Vols can’t be that bad again, can they?