Who Is The SEC’s Best Shot At A Second CFP Team?

When it comes to the SEC’s potential for the College Football Playoff, virtually everyone expects an appearance from Alabama. This hasn’t changed for years, and though the Crimson Tide had a fairly close contest on the season’s third weekend (as was forecasted here), there’s still no real indication to suggest they’re not one of the nation’s best teams. Barring a legitimate surprise, Alabama is a safe bet for the CFP.

But in another year in which the SEC looks to be the strongest conference in football, it may be fair to wonder which school might represent the next best shot at a bid. Or more to the point, if the SEC gets two teams into the CFP, and Alabama is one of them, who will join them?

LSU

The argument can be made that LSU has been the most impressive team outside of Alabama so far. The Tigers romped in the opening week, put up 45 points on a top-10 Texas team in week two, and utterly dominated an admittedly weak Northwestern State team. Bigger tests lie ahead, and many would have projected LSU was the SEC’s third best before the season started, but so far the Tigers have been convincing. They won’t face another test until they host Florida in mid-October, and they’re also fortunate enough to be hosting, rather than visiting Auburn. If LSU can get to its November 9th contest at Alabama undefeated, it may ultimately be able to justify a one-loss CFP berth.

Georgia

As noted, many might have pegged LSU as the conference’s third-best team, and in most cases, the oddsmakers do seem to have favored Georgia, at least nationally. American sources are still somewhat hit-or-miss here (even if betting laws are growing more lenient), but those betting sites in Canada with an angle on college football signify that Georgia was initially projected to be among the national contenders. And so far, the Bulldogs have played equal to the reputation. We just haven’t seen them face competition the way LSU did against Texas. If Georgia can impress against a 7th-ranked Notre Dame team this week though, it might become clear who the likeliest SEC qualifier aside from Alabama is.

Auburn

Auburn tends to be hard to figure this time of year – never counted among the true contenders, yet always just below the top tier with a chance to rise. The Tigers seem to have an uncanny knack for getting into dramatic competitions with other top teams, and this has already been the case in 2019. A thrilling win over Oregon put Auburn on the map – perhaps a little bit earlier than usual – and forced us to consider whether Gus Malzahn’s group might yet round into elite form. It’s not exactly expected, but no one should entirely count out Auburn pushing for a CFP berth. The schedule isn’t easy; the Tigers have a genuinely challenging matchup just about every other week throughout the season. But if the team can beat two of LSU, Georgia, and Alabama (no easy task, but not beyond feats of some recent Auburn teams), it may just be in.