2022 SEC Football: Outlook after first College Football Playoff rankings

The first batch of rankings by the College Football Playoff Committee dropped last night, and SEC Football may not have been the big winners, but they sure got their flowers.

There were four SEC Football teams ranked in the top 10 and five ranked in the top 25 (all in the top 11). Because each team in the SEC was ranked so high, they all have chance to make the playoff.

But first here’s a quick rundown:

Tennessee jumped up into the number one slot while Georgia slipped a couple spots down to three.

Alabama continues to get respect from the committee as they were the highest one-loss team in the nation.

And LSU’s head-to-head victory over Ole Miss was honored despite them having a worse record.

Now lets dive deeper:

Outlook for SEC Football teams after first College Football Playoff rankings

Tennessee

The Volunteers, initially ranked No. 2 in the country in the AP poll on Sunday, moved up to No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings.

Beating 5 ranked teams–the most in the country so far this year–helped them put together a resume that nobody questioned.

But, Tennessee’s playoff spot isn’t set in stone just yet. This upcoming week they must travel into Sanford Stadium to take on the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs.

Now one thing that we’ve learned form the rankings so far, is that the Volunteers have gained so much respect that they probably wouldn’t drop far with a loss here so Saturday is not “all or nothing”.

Alabama, a team which they beat just a few weeks ago, clocked in at six. It would truly be a bizarre world in which Tennessee loses next week and isn’t included in the ‘first 2 out’ part of playoff bracket.

Now there is another wrinkle that would come into play if they lose on Saturday.

Georgia and Tennessee are in the same division (SEC East) and if Georgia doesn’t lose a conference game all regular season, and Tennessee finishes 11-1… the Vols would get left out of the SEC Championship game.

In that case, they’ll need Georgia to win against their opponent (mainly Alabama and Ole Miss who  would be the only team’s entering the game with one loss)

In summary: The Vols outlook looks great right now. They are a lock to stay number one if they win out considering the impressive wins they would gather on the way there. And if they lose next week, they’ll become Georgia’s biggest fan.

Georgia

Who would have guessed that the undefeated, reigning National Champions, would come in at No. 3 in the first rankings?

If you had told me that after their week one clubbing of Oregon, I would’ve said you were crazy. But here we are.

Luckily for the Bulldogs they have a chance to completely flip the script and beat the No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers next week.

I’d say that the Bulldogs and Volunteers are in very similar positions if they each lost this game. But for Georgia, they need to hope that Alabama doesn’t win the SEC. That would be a scenario where they could get left out AND two SEC teams make the playoff.

After all is said and done, I’d find it hard to believe either Tennessee or Alabama is left out if they split their season series.

Outlook: Win out and you’re in (that’s obvious). Lose this week and root for Tennessee to win the SEC. Win and lose in the SEC Championship? Well… I don’t even know.

Alabama

The Crimson Tide got plenty of respect for their close loss with the No.1 ranked team in the country.

Scooting in front of TCU, Alabama was the sixth ranked team in the nation.

Over the next couple weeks they face No. 10 LSU and No. 11 Ole Miss. If they win both, they punch their ticket to the SEC championship game and get rematch against one of the two teams that have beat them this calendar year.

Outlook: One more loss and they’re done. There would be too much outrage if they stayed in the picture.

So with that, they don’t need to focus on what other teams do, instead the plan is beat LSU, Ole Miss, Austin Peay, Auburn… and then win in Atlanta.

LSU

The Tigers are a team that has turned everything around since Week 1… and Week 6 for that matter.

They came in as the highest two-loss team in the country and their win over Ole Miss was respected by the committee despite them having two less wins and one more loss.

LSU has a unique situation being a team with two losses because it doesn’t automatically eliminate them from the playoff.

Their first loss came against Florida State, and currently, they hold the top spot in the SEC West.

With a win over Bama this week there could be some talk about them crashing the playoff.

Outlook: A two-loss SEC Football champ would get into the playoff. If that happens, they’ll more than likely also be joined by the team they defeat in the SEC Championship game as well.

Ole Miss

The Rebels No. 11 ranking was no surprise as that’s where they were in the AP poll. What did come as a surprise was how LSU jumped them and went all the way up to 10.

Both teams play Alabama so maybe style points and eye test could shake things up in the future rankings involving these two, but I’d say they need LSU to lose for that to happen.

Most importantly though, they need LSU to lose to make the SEC Football Championship game.

Outlook: Win out and beat Alabama. Hope the Crimson Tide take care of business this week.