CFP Predictor: SEC wanted its own Playoff. It created one every Saturday

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The threat has always been there with the SEC, just in case things don’t work out how they should.

Take your ball and go home, and have your own SEC playoff.

Well, boys, you’ve got it right now; It’s called the regular season — and it’s the most undervalued television property on the planet.

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Every week, every game funneling into a 12-team College Football Playoff that may as well be shrinking by the week for the SEC.

“It’s on to next week, it’s what you do in our conference,” says Texas coach Steve Sarkisian. 

Texas and Georgia are the elite, for now. They’re on top of this week’s USA TODAY Sports Playoff Predictor, but for how long?

Alabama and Florida are surging, and LSU and Ole Miss aren’t going anywhere. Meanwhile, there’s Mississippi State with the most exciting player in the league (Kamario Taylor) this side of Trinidad Chambliss.

Alabama, playing its best in three seasons under coach Kalen DeBoer, gets to make the short drive Saturday to the snake pit that is Starkville, and deal with Taylor and the cow bells. 

Austin Simmons still hasn’t thrown an interception at Missouri (and has 11 TDs), and he and Tigers were on the short end of Taylor’s magic. They get Florida in Columbia on Saturday. 

Tennessee had Texas reeling, and couldn’t close it out. The Vols next get Auburn, which beat previously unbeaten Vanderbilt. And on and on it goes, week after week.

A look at this week’s Playoff Predictor: 

The CFP field

  1. Texas: You say the Longhorns looked sloppy, not elite. I say how many other non-SEC teams are going into Tennessee and winning? Next: Bye.  
  2. Georgia: The Dawgs are elite again defensively, and we’ve seen in the CFP era how devastating that can be. Next: Vanderbilt.  
  3. Ohio State: Still think the Buckeyes are probably the most complete team in the nation, but here comes a typical Ohio State misstep of a game. Next: at Iowa. 
  4. Miami: This ranking is as much about QB Darian Mensah as anything. Maybe we get a better idea of the Canes this week. Next: at Clemson. 
  5. Florida: Hard to not push the Gators even higher after the dismantling of last week’s No. 1 Ole Miss. They dealt with adversity, now show us dealing with success. Next: at Missouri. 
  6. Alabama: The better first-year starting QB Keelon Russell plays, the better Alabama looks. And Russell is taking huge strides every week. Next: at Mississippi State.  
  7. Ole Miss: Is the Florida loss an anomaly, or a trend? Rebels put everything into beating LSU, but there’s still plenty of heavy lifting left. Next: Bye.
  8. LSU: Maybe an impressive bounce back against desperate Texas A&M will reset the season. Tigers are a dangerous, talented team with plenty of motivation. Next: McNeese.  
  9. Notre Dame: Only metric we can use with a putrid schedule is common opponent. ND eased by Michigan State at home, middling Nebraska routed the Spartans in East Lansing. Next: at North Carolina.  
  10. Indiana: Maybe now we can finally forget about 2025, and focus on 2026. A dogfight with Northwestern in Bloomington isn’t exactly championship material. Next: at Rutgers.
  11. BYU: Two winnable games before the biggest non-Utah game of the season at Notre Dame. Let’s see how BYU reacts to first Big 12 road game. Next: at TCU. 
  12. Boise State: They’ve eliminated two Group of 5 contenders from CFP race (Memphis, Western Michigan), and now it’s time to deal with the new Pac-12. Next: Utah State. 

First round byes

  • Texas
  • Georgia
  • Ohio State
  • Miami

First round

  • Boise State (12) at Florida (5)
  • BYU (11) at Alabama (6)
  • Indiana (10) at Ole Miss (7)
  • Notre Dame (9) at LSU (8) 

Quarterfinals

  • Texas (1) vs. Notre Dame-LSU winner
  • Georgia (2) vs. Indiana-Ole Miss winner
  • Ohio State (3) vs. BYU-Alabama winner
  • Miami (4) vs. Florida-Boise State winner

Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB. Listen to him daily, from 12-2 p.m., on 1010XL-Jacksonville.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: CFP Predictor: SEC wanted its own Playoff. It created one every Saturday

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