College Football Playoff Continues to Bend Over Backward for the SEC

Drew Thirion|published: Sat 20th December, 20:56 2025

Dec 20, 2025; Oxford, MS, USA; Mississippi Rebels wide receiver De'Zhaun Stribling (1) breaks the tackle attempt by Tulane Green Wave defensive back Isaiah Wadsworth (8) during the first half of a game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The playoff committee made a massive mistake in 2024.

They allowed a great SEC program like Tennessee to face Ohio State in the first round. It was a completely unfair game, where Ohio State was horribly underseeded and was able to blow out the Volunteers. Fortunately, Tennessee did have the moral victory of taking over the shoe, where they watched their Volunteers fall behind 21-0 in the first quarter.

But never forget the takeover!

We knew the SEC couldn’t be disrespected like that again, and they needed more first-round matchups like Texas vs Clemson of last year. Great news for the almighty SEC: after beating only the two lowest-ranked teams in the playoffs last year, they were rewarded with two additional teams in 2025.

Football isn’t played on the field; it’s obviously played in the form of hypotheticals. And as we all know, the SEC is undefeated in hypotheticals!

But how were the matchups for the four SEC teams that got a bye?

The two lowest-ranked SEC teams obviously played each other, so that’s one free spot in the quarterfinals. Alabama and Oklahoma were the most flawed SEC teams in the playoffs, and they both proved how deserving they were in a sloppy first-round game that involved a 27-0 run by Alabama.

Then Texas A&M, who didn’t lose until the last week of the season, had a home match against Miami. Many felt that the Canes didn't deserve to be in the playoffs, given how they played in the second half of the season. Yet, they still managed to dominate an Aggies offense that was one of the best in the SEC all season long. Maybe, when you only struggle through the bottom half of an overrated conference, you’re actually just an overrated team.

Last, and certainly not least, we have Ole Miss, who was matched up against a Tulane team that they already beat by 40 earlier this season. Unsurprisingly, the same thing happened in the rematch, and Ole Miss is off to play Georgia in the quarterfinals.

Three SEC teams are in the final eight, with such beneficial matchups in the playoffs. Good thing we get to see another Ole Miss rematch in the second round, so that we can have at least one SEC team in the semi-finals again this year. Maybe if we’re lucky, the SEC will break its two-year drought of missing the national title game entirely.

I can’t believe the moment it became legal to pay players, the SEC stopped dominating the national football landscape! At least we will always have our hypotheticals.