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Texas quarterback Arch Manning (16) tries to break a tackle by Clemson defensive end T.J. Parker (3) during the second half in the first round of the College Football Playoff, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
In January, for the second consecutive season, no Southeastern Conference team played in the College Football Playoff national title game. For a league synonymous with the sport and full of programs willing to invest tens of millions of dollars to compete, the postseason results stung. The conference may not have to wait long to regain its former spot, though.
On Monday, a record 10 SEC teams were ranked in the top 25 of the preseason Associated Press poll, one more than the old mark that the SEC set last season. Texas was ranked first, the first time it has entered the season in the No. 1 slot. The Longhorns had 25 first-place votes and 1,552 points, just ahead of No. 2 Penn State, which had 23 first-place votes and 1,547 points.
Ohio State, the reigning national champion, was third with 11 first-place votes and 1,472 points. The Buckeyes host Texas in the season opener on Aug. 30, one of the most anticipated Week 1 games in recent memory.
Besides Texas, the next highest-ranked SEC school was Georgia, which checked in at No. 5 behind No. 4 Clemson. Georgia was first in last year’s AP preseason poll for the second consecutive year . The Bulldogs won the SEC title and were seeded second in the CFP, but they lost in the quarterfinals to Notre Dame, which ended up making the national title game. The Fighting Irish enter this season ranked sixth in the AP poll. They visit No. 10 Miami on Aug. 31 in another highly anticipated Week 1 matchup.
The SEC has two more top 10 teams in No. 8 Alabama and No. 9 LSU, both of which are coming off disappointing seasons. Neither team made the expanded 12-team playoff. The Crimson Tide finished the regular season 9-3 with losses to Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Oklahoma in coach Kalen DeBoer’s first season. The Tigers went 8-4 in the regular season, losing to USC in the season opener and dropping three consecutive games to Texas A&M, Alabama and Florida in October and Novembers.
The other SEC teams in the top 25 are No. 13 South Carolina, No. 15 Florida, No. 18 Oklahoma, No. 19 Texas A&M, No. 21 Ole Miss and No. 24 Tennessee.
Last season, three SEC programs made the CFP field, with No. 9 seed Tennessee losing in the first round to Ohio State, Georgia losing in the quarterfinals to Notre Dame and No. 5 seed Texas losing in the semifinals to Ohio State.
All in all, it was a disappointing postseason considering the SEC had won six titles in eight seasons from 2016 to 2022. Since 2006, five SEC programs have won national titles: Florida (2006 and 2008), LSU (2007 and 2019), Alabama (2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2020), Auburn (2010) and Georgia (2021 and 2022). Only four other programs have won championships during that time, but two occurred the past two seasons: Michigan in 2023 and Ohio State last season.
The Wolverines and Buckeyes are members of the Big Ten, the only conference that can be mentioned as close to the SEC when it comes to on-field success and off-field riches. The SEC distributed an average of $52.6 million to its full-time members in the 2023-24 school year, per the Associated Press. Texas and Oklahoma, which joined the conference that season, received $27.5 million apiece. The Big Ten’s 12 longest-standing schools, meanwhile, each received about $63.2 million during the 2024 fiscal year, according to USA Today.
The Big Ten has three teams in the preseason top 10 in Penn State, Ohio State and No. 7 Oregon, each of whom made the CFP last season. Three more conference teams are ranked in the top 25: No. 12 Illinois, No. 14 Michigan and No. 20 Indiana.
Chances are, an SEC or Big Ten team will win the national title, although Clemson, Notre Dame and Miami are teams outside of those conferences that are in the preseason top 10. Still, Clemson is the only program that’s not currently in the SEC or Big Ten to win the championship since Miami did so in 2001.
The SEC, as usual, is filled with top players, including a loaded quarterback group led by Arch Manning (Texas), Garrett Nussmeier (LSU), LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina), Jackson Arnold (Auburn), John Mateer (Oklahoma) and DJ Lagway (Florida). Over the next few months, those players will face off against each other numerous times, looking to lead their teams to a CFP berth. The past two seasons have featured non-SEC programs playing for the national title, but the league is in good position to see that streak end and regain its place atop the sport.
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