Which SEC Teams Are Facing Playoff Elimination This Weekend? Just a Minute

Breaking down how this week's SEC matchups affect some teams' chances at reaching the College Football Playoff.

Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Jaren Kanak (7) brings down Texas Longhorns wide receiver Silas Bolden (11) beside Oklahoma Sooners defensive lineman Ethan Downs (40) during the Red River Rivalry college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Texas Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. Texas one 34-3. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Welcome to BamaCentral’s "Just a Minute," a daily video series featuring BamaCentral's Alabama beat writers. Multiple times a week, the writers will group up or film solo to provide their take on a topic concerning the Crimson Tide or the landscape of college sports.

Watch the above video as Alabama Crimson Tide on SI  assitant editor Katie Windham looks at the SEC slate for the weekend and discusses which teams could be facing elimination from the College Football Playoff with a loss.

No one would have predicted that the preseason No. 1 team could be eliminated from College Football Playoff contention at the halfway point of the regular season, but that is a very real possibility if Texas loses to No. 6 Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry this weekend.

The Longhorns are 3-2 (0-1 SEC) with losses to Ohio State and Florida already on the schedule. A third loss and falling to 0-2 in SEC play would be very hard to overcome, even with Texas having one of the easier schedules in the league.

There are a few other teams who are in danger of remaining a CFP contender with a loss this weekend. South Carolina is likely already out of the picture unless the Gamecocks win out, but the loser of the South Carolina/LSU game in Baton Rouge is in a really tough spot. The Gamecocks would definitely be eliminated with a third SEC loss, and LSU would already have its second SEC loss.

Georgia and Tennessee are both favored this week against Auburn and Arkansas respectively, but a loss for either team would be a big blow to the CFP resumé with a second conference loss. Conversely, Arkansas is already eliminated, and Auburn will definitely be with an 0-3 start to SEC play.

If Alabama loses at Missouri, it will make the Crimson Tide's margin for error even smaller, but because it would just be Alabama's first SEC loss, there would still be a path to the SEC title game and CFP for the Crimson Tide.

Missouri, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Oklahoma are the only remaining undefeated SEC teams overall. Ole Miss will play an out of conference matchup at home against Washington State. All four teams still have a lot of wiggle room, even with a loss this weekend.

Last year, three SEC teams made the CFP (Georgia, Tennessee and Texas), and the league no doubt wants at least one more participant this season. As we get deeper and deeper into the season, each week's results will help reveal which teams are legitimate CFP contenders, and who are just the pretenders.

Week 7 SEC Schedule

(all times CT)

• No. 8 Alabama at No. 14 Missouri, 11 a.m.
• Washington State at No. 4 Ole Miss, 11:45 a.m.
• No. 6 Oklahoma vs. Texas, (Dallas) 2:30 p.m.
• Arkansas at No. 12 Tennessee, 3:15 p.m.
• Florida at No. 5 Texas A&M, 6 p.m.
• No. 10 Georgia at Auburn, 6:30 p.m.
• South Carolina at No. 11 LSU, 6:45 p.m.

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