SEC Extra Points with Barrett Sallee: Alabama, the Playoff and SEC Bias Hysteria
The first edition of the College Football Playoff rankings were released Tuesday night, and if you detected a distinct SEC influence, you're not alone.
Six SEC teams donned the Top 20, including No. 2 LSU, No. 4 Alabama and No. 10 Florida. Not only is Alabama's presence in the top four surprising, but all six of those teams are ranked higher in the CFP rankings than they are in both the Associated Press and USA Today coaches Top 25 polls.
Everybody panic!
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Now after the panic has subsided, everybody calm down. As my colleague Adam Kramer insisted, "relax."
While SEC bias might be present in the first poll just as it was in the first poll last year when Mississippi State, Auburn and Ole Miss were all in the top four, it won't be in the final poll.
Conference championships are listed as one of the primary factors in the criteria the committee uses to determine who gets into the four-team playoff, and the committee simply can't project which teams will win conference championships in early November.
As Ralph Russo of the Associated Press noted on Twitter during the playoff outrage on Tuesday night, if your team wins its conference, it will be immune to the committee's "SEC bias."
Don't worry about one-loss Alabama peeking its head into the top four in the first rankings. The primary purpose of the committee, even though the committee will never admit it, is to script the sport for the final month of the season.
It will all work itself out, I promise.
X-Factor in the Biggest Game of the Year
Just like old times, the SEC's biggest game of the year will take place in early November when No. 2 LSU visits No. 4 Alabama this Saturday night in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
When the Tigers take the field, the most important player won't be Heisman Trophy front-runner Leonard Fournette; it'll be the man handing him the ball—quarterback Brandon Harris.
Harris has been solid this season—his first full season as the starting quarterback in Baton Rouge—tossing nine touchdowns, no picks and passing for more than 200 yards in three straight games. That stability and reliability has resonated in the Alabama film room this week.
"He's really shown a lot of maturity as a player and really done a great job with their offense," Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban said. "He's very athletic, extended plays and made big plays off scrambles. He's been able to run when he's needed to in order to get first downs. He has been very accurate as a thrower. He's been very impressive to me and the way he has performed all year long."
The game will be Harris' to win or lose.
Alabama's front seven is one of the best in the country, and we've already seen the Tide slow down several great running backs this year, including Wisconsin's Corey Clement, Georgia's Nick Chubb and Arkansas' Alex Collins. While Fournette has been awesome this year, Harris will have to make some throws against a Tide secondary that's become more of a strength than a liability under first-year defensive backs coach Mel Tucker.
"We've made some improvement in our secondary," Saban said. "We have a little better cover guys who are a little more athletic. We've given up fewer big plays, and when we have given up big plays, it's been a real problem for us, and that's something that's going to be important not only in this game, but every game."
Harris is going to have to be big-time on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa if LSU is going to keep its hopes of an undefeated season intact.
Quarterback Conundrum
The Georgia quarterback situation has been a mystery all year, and head coach Mark Richt is keeping it that way this week prior to his team's matchup with Kentucky.
Third-stringer Faton Bauta started the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party against Florida last week and promptly threw four picks, lost 27-3 and evidently was relegated back to third string behind Greyson Lambert and Brice Ramsey quicker than Georgia fans drowned their cocktail party sorrows.
"We're repping mostly Greyson and Brice with the 'one' unit," Richt said. "Faton has got some work as well, and we aren't counting that out as well. But those are the two who have received the most work up to this point."
Or have they?
News leaked out a couple of days prior to the Cocktail Party that Bauta would get the nod, which came as a surprise to Richt even in this day and age of easily accessible information.
"I was just curious if there are any secrets anymore," Richt said. "Somehow, things always slip out through social media or whatever it is. I was just curious if everybody could keep it under their hat."
Are Ramsey and Lambert really fighting for the top spot on the depth chart, or did Richt learn his lesson and is playing games in the media to keep Kentucky guessing?
If it's the latter, Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops isn't buying it.
"I'm not sure what they're going to do this week, but I would expect them to go back with Lambert," he said.
The Key to Florida's Title Run
Florida is sitting pretty in the CFP rankings.
At No. 10, the Gators essentially control their own playoff destiny. Win out—which would include a victory over Florida State at the end of the regular season and a triumph over the SEC West champion in the SEC Championship Game—and it's impossible to imagine a scenario that keeps one-loss Florida out of the meaningful postseason.
If that happens, it'll be because of quarterback Treon Harris.
The true sophomore quarterback was thrust into action two games ago following the suspension to starter Will Grier and is now in a perfect spot—with games vs. Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Florida Atlantic—to fine-tune his game before the heat gets cranked up.
"The more he plays, the more he gets to evaluate and see on film and make some tweaks here and there," head coach Jim McElwain said. "You know, moving in the pocket and that kind of thing. One thing he has done an outstanding job of is understanding the importance of taking care of the football. You may have seen us in the past work some checkdown stuff when the defense is deep, and in our case, he has been using his feet as his checkdown."
Add in the threat Harris presents with his legs to a suddenly stout running game thanks to the emergence of Kelvin Taylor, and the "Florida 2.0" offense has the chance to peak at the right time.
"As time goes on and people get more film, applying an extra spy to [Harris] will help us on the outside and create some throwing lanes," McElwain said. "We're kind of developing as we go with him behind center. But I'll say this, he's been playing really good, he's confident in what he's doing and done a really good job of learning the plans."
If you're sleeping on Florida because of Harris, wake up. The Gators are just getting started.
A Major Impact
How much of an impact did Auburn "Buck" Carl Lawson make in his return to action last week against Ole Miss? More than anybody imagined.
"I really thought their front was the second-best front we have played all year," Rebels head coach Hugh Freeze said. "After they got Lawson back and were able to move No. 8 (linebacker Cassanova McKinzy) back, I thought their front was very talented."
Keep in mind, Freeze is the same guy who has already squared off against ultra-talented fronts like those of Alabama, Texas A&M and Florida this year.
That performance got the attention of Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin, who will have to deal with Lawson this weekend in College Station.
"The addition of Lawson is a big deal, because he's one of the elite players in this league," he said. "He's a difference-maker for them just as Myles Garrett is for us. When you bring an elite player, particularly a pass-rusher of his caliber, to a game, to say that's the same defense would be a mistake."
Could Auburn's defense transform from punchline to power in November? If Lawson stays healthy, don't discount the possibility.
Getting Hot
Remember when Tennessee head coach Butch Jones was fearful of the passing game, quarterback Joshua Dobbs was a liability and the Vols wide receivers were more sizzle than steak?
My, how things have changed.
Dobbs has thrown for 716 yards and six touchdowns over the last three games, and the one-dimensional Vols have become a threat in the passing game.
"The team just feeds off of him," South Carolina interim head coach Shawn Elliott said of the man he'll be facing this weekend. "Whether it's throwing or running, the leadership skills—ever since he was inserted as the starter a year ago against us—you've seen a Tennessee team that looks like it's capable of winning every time they go out."
The stretch run is going to be huge for Dobbs and Tennessee.
With virtually everybody coming back for an offense that's gaining confidence, and a weak November schedule, this team has a chance to enter the offseason with even more hype than it garnered last offseason.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics are courtesy of CFBStats.com.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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