Hot take: it might be better to not win the SEC Championship

jocotrojandawg · Aug 14, 2024

According to “About the 12 team playoff” information on the CFP website, these two points stand out to me:

The selection committee will assign the four highest-ranked conference champions to Playoff Quarterfinals hosted by bowls. This will be done in consideration of historic bowl relationships, then in consideration of rankings. For example, if the Sugar Bowl hosts a Playoff Quarterfinal and the SEC champion is ranked No. 1 and the Big 12 champion is ranked No. 3, the SEC champion would be assigned to the Sugar Bowl and the Big 12 champion would be assigned elsewhere.
The highest seed will receive preferential placement for the Playoff Semifinal bowl assignment.

It sounds like, we are almost guaranteed to be in the Sugar Bowl as SEC Champions, unless we use the “highest seed” to get preferential placement into the Peach Bowl. If we are the two seed behind the Big Ten champ, then there’s no preferential treatment. I don’t see a scenario where the Big Ten champ doesn’t pick the Rose Bowl because of their history and fascination with sunsets.

If there’s no way we can play in the Peach Bowl as an SEC champ, I would prefer the 5 seed over the 1 seed.

A hypothetical home game against an G5 team and a Peach Bowl matchup against the 4 seed ACC champ (rematch with Clemson or FSU) sounds better than a Sugar Bowl matchup against the 8/9 matchup. Especially if that 8/9 matchup is a team like Texas, LSU, Alabama, or Ole Miss who’s fans will have less of a trip than our fans.

But, because I can’t as easily get to Phoenix, I guess I would take a bye and a Sugar Bowl quarterfinal over playing the Big 12 champ in the Fiesta Bowl as a 4/5 quarterfinal.

TLDR: Kirby better tell Sankey, ESPN, the CFP, and the Sugar Bowl to shove it if we’re the 1 seed.

donalsonville_dawg · Aug 14, 2024