SEC in Danger of Playing Itself out of Playoff Picture

In the rough-and-tumble SEC, the risk of teams cannibalizing each other exists more than in any other division in college football.

That's exactly what's happening this season, and it could cost the conference a coveted second spot in the inaugural College Football Playoff.

The latest team to go down is the one that had the clearest path. Auburn held down the No. 3 spot in the playoff rankings during its first two weeks of existence, and with games on the road against Georgia and Alabama left on the schedule, the committee would be hard-pressed to keep the Tigers out if they were to win both games. 

Committee chairman Jeff Long specifically stated that they don't bring the previous week's rankings into meetings, but they'd still likely find the same conclusion, and Auburn's resume would surely be boosted by road wins over Georgia and Alabama.

Instead, it was unranked Texas A&M that threw a wrench in the works.

The Aggies topped Auburn 41-38 on Saturday afternoon in a wild game on The Plains that saw the Tigers claw back from a 35-17 halftime deficit only to fumble the game away twice in the final two minutes.

The Tiger meltdown came one week after Georgia got tossed out of the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, when Kelvin Taylor and Matt Jones served not only as running backs but bouncers.

As it stands, there are only two teams in the SEC with fewer than two losses—No. 1 Mississippi State (9-0) and new AP No. 4 Alabama (8-1). Conveniently, the two will square off in T-Town this weekend in what will serve as an elimination game for the Tide and a statement game for the Bulldogs.

Unless some really strange dominoes fall between now and early December, those are the only two SEC teams with realistic playoff hopes. At least one of them will get in. Yes, even if Mississippi State loses to Alabama and finishes the season with that one loss without playing in the SEC Championship Game.

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

One of the primary points of emphasis in the selection committee's methodology is conference championships, and as SEC teams have fallen out of contention, teams with conference title hopes have moved into the playoff neighborhood.

"Let me remind you, and I will say this each and every week: Conference championships won will be an additional factor, but of course we won't have that information until December," Long said on Tuesday, according to ASAPSports.com.

Team	Nov. 15	Nov. 22	Nov. 29	Dec. 6
Miss. St.	at Alabama	Vanderbilt	at Ole Miss	Conf. Title*
FSU	at Miami	Boston College	Florida	Conf. Title*
Alabama	vs. Miss. St.	Western Carolina	Auburn	Conf. Title*
Oregon	BYE	Colorado	at Oregon State	Conf. Title*
TCU	at Kansas	BYE	at Texas	Iowa State
Baylor	BYE	Okla. State	Texas Tech	Kansas State
Ohio St.	at Minnesota	Indiana	Michigan	Conf. Title*
Ariz. St.	at Oregon State	Washington St.	at Arizona	Conf. Title*

While the SEC is busy beating itself up, top contenders from around the country—including defending champ Florida State—are boosting their playoff resumes.

TCU looks like the real deal after throttling Kansas State 41-20 in Fort Worth. Quarterback Trevone Boykin has jumped into the thick of the Heisman Trophy race in the nation's third-best offense (550.3 YPG). Baylor's out-of-conference schedule is a joke, but the Bears did just work over Oklahoma 48-14 at their place and hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Horned Frogs.

The road for both Big 12 contenders is relatively easy, and if one runs the table and holds the Big 12 title, it will play well with the committee.

Oregon seems to have solved its offensive line issues and boasts the Heisman Trophy front-runner in Marcus Mariota. Between Oregon and Arizona State—which beat Notre Dame 55-31 in Tempe—one will likely run the table and claim the Pac-12 title.

Quietly, Ohio State has been steadily improving and looked like a power on the road in a 49-37 win at Michigan State. Head coach Urban Meyer's crew should win out now that quarterback J.T. Barrett has settled into the starting role and will be an attractive option if it holds the Big Ten title.

There's a doomsday scenario on the horizon for the SEC.

What happens if the cannibalization continues with an Alabama win over Mississippi State, a Crimson Tide loss to Auburn and Ole Miss winning the Egg Bowl over Mississippi State? All of the West contenders would have two losses, and the champ would be fighting an uphill battle for the playoff in a scenario that isn't very far-fetched.

Even if that specific scenario doesn't play out, an SEC Championship Game upset could spell disaster, as Todd Fuhrman and Joel Klatt of Fox Sports 1 noted:

Two teams in the College Football Playoff?

That seemed like a pipe dream before. As teams have played their way out of the playoffs this season, it's more of one now.

The SEC should just worry about getting one in. That should be good enough.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.