Alabama's 42-13 blitzkrieg against LSU coupled with Ole Miss' 28-10 win over Georgia has caused quite a stir within the SEC. At least eight different teams could still reach the SEC Championship Game.
For the needs of this exercise, I'm assuming the Dawgs will beat Tennessee and Texas will win at Texas A&M next week. Based on my colleague Seth Emerson's calculations, this could likely result in a Texas-Alabama matchup in Atlanta, and I just like the Tide in that game.
Meanwhile, at this rate, a minimum of one SEC team will finish 10-2 and miss the playoffs. My guess is Tennessee, where there would only be one top-25 win (against Alabama) and possibly only three wins against teams with a record of .500 or higher. Unless, after all, the Vols beat an 11-1 Indiana team without winning the Top 25.
Elsewhere, Oregon did absolutely nothing flawed, but I'll be rooting for Ohio State again after they meet in a Big Ten Championship Game rematch. Penn State has a disappointing record, but given the committee had them ranked No. 6 last week, an 11-1 Nittany Lions team would likely be seeded ahead of 11-2 Texas and 10-2 Georgia.
Finally, Colorado is my recent projected Big 12 champion. The buffs are rolling. It pains me to depart 9-0 BYU out entirely, however the Cougars' luck will run out sooner or later, possibly at Arizona State in a number of weeks. A ten-2 Ole Miss team with lopsided wins over Georgia and a possible 9-3 South Carolina team earn my final overall spot.
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