PRESS PICKS (Week 15): Déjà vu all over again with dangers of wrong outcome in SEC title game
STAFF REPORT
What is the future lifespan of the conference championship games?
This all started in 1992 when the Southeastern Conference - thanks to splitting into divisions - decided to settle the title winner with an extra game, first played in Birmingham.
It was a move that almost backfired due to the fact that Alabama was undefeated after the regular season and was set to face Miami in the Sugar Bowl for the championship that year. The kink was later before the season when commissioner Roy Kramer and the league administrators chose to add the game to the calendar (with the prompting of ABC television).
Kramer held his breath as Alabama used an Antonio Langham Pick-6 to beat Florida and move on to the Sugar Bowl where the Tide beat Miami for the national title.
The bad news - it was a box office smash.
So, is history about to repeat itself?
Alabama enters Saturday’s SEC Championship against Georgia, possibly with a playoff bid on the line. Tuesday’s playoff rankings came out with Bama sitting at No. 9, a spot up from the previous week and ahead of the prom date Notre Dame, which did not play last Saturday.
Under normal circumstances (and Bama sitting at home this week), there wouldn’t be any need for a Tide victory. But the season-opening loss to Florida State may have ruined a perfect ending.
On Tuesday, committee chairman Hunter Yurachek explained how the group was “impressed” with the win over rival Auburn and subsequently rewarded them with the bump.
Later, he also said there had been a “tweak” to what was said last year about teams not playing on Championship Saturday and that there could be movement for a team if it didn’t make a title game.
So, the message “could be” yeah, you played for a championship but if you lose, you very well could be held accountable and miss the second season.
They protected SMU a year ago, putting the Ponies in after losing to a three-loss Clemson team. That left Bama out.
We all know how that ended with SMU getting embarrassed by Penn State in the first round.
Move ahead to Saturday and play the “what if” game. Bama loses, say by 10 points, and the committee says something to the extent of “we didn’t like the way they played.”
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and if the loss isn’t “pretty enough” it might very well cost the Tide a spot.
Which leads to the notion that might cause SEC commissioner Greg Sankey to rethink his stand on the game and possibly put an end to the championship games. That would more than likely lead to a chain reaction, just as it did in 1992 where everyone followed suit.
But there is one problem - the event generates big dollars for the SEC as well as high television ratings for the networks. Last year’s game between Georgia and Texas was the most watched college football game of the season.
It creates quite the enigma for the league but if it costs them a spot in the playoff, it might prompt a change.
At this point, expect the unexpected and keep an eye on the numbers (both on the scoreboard and television ratings) as we head to selection Sunday.
2025 Standings (Last week)
1. Michael Butler 171-54 (9-6).760
Graham Dunn 171-54 (12-3) .760
3. Doug Amos 161-64 (9-6) .716
Tim Gayle 161-64 (10-5) .716
Wesley Lyle 161-64 (10-5) .716
6. Barry McKnight 159-66 (11-4) .707
7. Mike Peacock 155-70 (7-8) .689
8. Rick Hendrick 154-71 (10-5) .684
9. Lindsey Bonner 154-71 (13-2) .684
10. Rosie Langello 153-72 (12-3) .680
Michael Butler (WTLS 101.1&94.7 FM/1300 AM/Tallassee Times)
171-54 (9-6).760
Class 1A: Maplesville vs Wadley - Maplesville
Class 2A: Lanett vs Coosa Christian - Lanett
Class 3A: Mars Hill Bible vs Bayside Academy - Mars Hill
Class 4A:Jackson vs Anniston - Jackson
Class 5A: Vigor vs Moody - Vigor
Class 6A: Saraland vs. Clay-Chalkville - Clay-Chalkville
Class 7A: Thompson vs Opelika - Thompson
SEC Championship: Alabama vs Georgia - Georgia
Big 10 Championship: Indiana vs Ohio St - Ohio St
Big 12 Championship: BYU vs Texas Tech - Texas Tech
ACC Championship: Virginia vs Duke - Virginia
American Championship: North Texas at Tulane - Tulane
CUSA Championship: Kennesaw St at Jacksonville St - Jax St
MAC Championship: Western Michigan vs. Miami, Ohio - Miami
Sun Belt Championship: Troy at James Madison - J. Madison
Graham Dunn (River Region Sports/WTLS/Voice of Alabama State Hornets)
171-54 (12-3) .760
Class 1A: Maplesville vs Wadley - Maplesville
Class 2A: Lanett vs Coosa Christian - Lanett
Class 3A: Mars Hill Bible vs Bayside Academy - Mars Hill
Class 4A:Jackson vs Anniston - Jackson
Class 5A: Vigor vs Moody - Vigor
Class 6A: Saraland vs. Clay-Chalkville - Clay-Chalkville
Class 7A: Thompson vs Opelika - Thompson
SEC Championship: Alabama vs Georgia - Alabama
Big 10 Championship: Indiana vs Ohio St - Ohio St
Big 12 Championship: BYU vs Texas Tech - Texas Tech
ACC Championship: Virginia vs Duke - Virginia
American Championship: North Texas at Tulane - Tulane
CUSA Championship: Kennesaw St at Jacksonville St - Jax St
MAC Championship: Western Michigan vs. Miami, Ohio - Miami
Sun Belt Championship: Troy at James Madison - J. Madison
Doug Amos (ESPN The Ticket)
161-64 (9-6) .716
Class 1A: Maplesville vs Wadley - Wadley
Class 2A: Lanett vs Coosa Christian - Coosa Christian
Class 3A: Mars Hill Bible vs Bayside Academy - Mars Hill
Class 4A:Jackson vs Anniston - Jackson
Class 5A: Vigor vs Moody - Moody
Class 6A: Saraland vs. Clay-Chalkville - Clay-Chalkville
Class 7A: Thompson vs Opelika - Thompson
SEC Championship: Alabama vs Georgia - Georgia
Big 10 Championship: Indiana vs Ohio St - Ohio St
Big 12 Championship: BYU vs Texas Tech - Texas Tech
ACC Championship: Virginia vs Duke - Virginia
American Championship: North Texas at Tulane - Tulane
CUSA Championship: Kennesaw St at Jacksonville St - Jax St
MAC Championship: Western Michigan vs. Miami, Ohio - Western Michigan
Sun Belt Championship: Troy at James Madison - J. Madison
Tim Gayle (River Region Sports/Montgomery Independent)
161-64 (10-5) .716
Class 1A: Maplesville vs Wadley - Maplesville
Class 2A: Lanett vs Coosa Christian - Coosa Christian
Class 3A: Mars Hill Bible vs Bayside Academy - Bayside Aca
Class 4A:Jackson vs Anniston - Jackson
Class 5A: Vigor vs Moody - Vigor
Class 6A: Saraland vs. Clay-Chalkville - Clay-Chalkville
Class 7A: Thompson vs Opelika - Thompson
SEC Championship: Alabama vs Georgia - Georgia
Big 10 Championship: Indiana vs Ohio St - Ohio St
Big 12 Championship: BYU vs Texas Tech - Texas Tech
ACC Championship: Virginia vs Duke - Virginia
American Championship: North Texas at Tulane - Tulane
CUSA Championship: Kennesaw St at Jacksonville St - Jax St
MAC Championship: Western Michigan vs. Miami, Ohio - Western Michigan
Sun Belt Championship: Troy at James Madison - J. Madison
Wesley Lyle (River Region Sports)
161-64 (10-5) .716
Class 1A: Maplesville vs Wadley - Maplesville
Class 2A: Lanett vs Coosa Christian - Lanett
Class 3A: Mars Hill Bible vs Bayside Academy - Bayside Aca
Class 4A:Jackson vs Anniston - Jackson
Class 5A: Vigor vs Moody - Vigor
Class 6A: Saraland vs. Clay-Chalkville - Saraland
Class 7A: Thompson vs Opelika - Thompson
SEC Championship: Alabama vs Georgia - Georgia
Big 10 Championship: Indiana vs Ohio St - Ohio St
Big 12 Championship: BYU vs Texas Tech - Texas Tech
ACC Championship: Virginia vs Duke - Duke
American Championship: North Texas at Tulane - Tulane
CUSA Championship: Kennesaw St at Jacksonville St - Jax St
MAC Championship: Western Michigan vs. Miami, Ohio - Western Michigan
Sun Belt Championship: Troy at James Madison - J. Madison
Barry McKnight (Voice of Troy Trojans)
159-66 (11-4) .707
Class 1A: Maplesville vs Wadley - Wadley
Class 2A: Lanett vs Coosa Christian - Lanett
Class 3A: Mars Hill Bible vs Bayside Academy - Mars Hill
Class 4A:Jackson vs Anniston - Jackson
Class 5A: Vigor vs Moody - Moody
Class 6A: Saraland vs. Clay-Chalkville - Saraland
Class 7A: Thompson vs Opelika - Opelika
SEC Championship: Alabama vs Georgia - Georgia
Big 10 Championship: Indiana vs Ohio St - Indiana
Big 12 Championship: BYU vs Texas Tech - Texas Tech
ACC Championship: Virginia vs Duke - Virginia
American Championship: North Texas at Tulane - North Texas
CUSA Championship: Kennesaw St at Jacksonville St - Kennesaw St
MAC Championship: Western Michigan vs. Miami, Ohio - Miami
Sun Belt Championship: Troy at James Madison - Troy
Mike Peacock (River Region Sports/ASU Hornets Radio analyst )
155-70 (7-8) .689
Class 1A: Maplesville vs Wadley - Wadley
Class 2A: Lanett vs Coosa Christian - Lanett
Class 3A: Mars Hill Bible vs Bayside Academy - Mars Hill
Class 4A:Jackson vs Anniston - Jackson
Class 5A: Vigor vs Moody - Vigor
Class 6A: Saraland vs. Clay-Chalkville - Saraland
Class 7A: Thompson vs Opelika - Thompson
SEC Championship: Alabama vs Georgia - Georgia
Big 10 Championship: Indiana vs Ohio St - Indiana
Big 12 Championship: BYU vs Texas Tech - Texas Tech
ACC Championship: Virginia vs Duke - Virginia
American Championship: North Texas at Tulane - North Texas
CUSA Championship: Kennesaw St at Jacksonville St - Jax St
MAC Championship: Western Michigan vs. Miami, Ohio - Miami
Sun Belt Championship: Troy at James Madison - J. Madison
Rick Hendrick (WXFS 95.1 The Fox/PA Montgomery Biscuits)
154-71 (10-5) .684
Class 1A: Maplesville vs Wadley - Wadley
Class 2A: Lanett vs Coosa Christian - Coosa Christian
Class 3A: Mars Hill Bible vs Bayside Academy - Bayside Aca
Class 4A:Jackson vs Anniston - Anniston
Class 5A: Vigor vs Moody - Moody
Class 6A: Saraland vs. Clay-Chalkville - Saraland
Class 7A: Thompson vs Opelika - Thompson
SEC Championship: Alabama vs Georgia - Georgia
Big 10 Championship: Indiana vs Ohio St - Ohio St
Big 12 Championship: BYU vs Texas Tech - Texas Tech
ACC Championship: Virginia vs Duke - Virginia
American Championship: North Texas at Tulane - Tulane
CUSA Championship: Kennesaw St at Jacksonville St - Jax St
MAC Championship: Western Michigan vs. Miami, Ohio - Western Michigan
Sun Belt Championship: Troy at James Madison - J. Madison
Lindsey Bonner (Sports Director - WAKA Ch. 8)
154-71 (13-2) .684
Class 1A: Maplesville vs Wadley - Maplesville
Class 2A: Lanett vs Coosa Christian - Lanett
Class 3A: Mars Hill Bible vs Bayside Academy - Bayside Aca
Class 4A:Jackson vs Anniston - Jackson
Class 5A: Vigor vs Moody - Moody
Class 6A: Saraland vs. Clay-Chalkville - Saraland
Class 7A: Thompson vs Opelika - Thompson
SEC Championship: Alabama vs Georgia - Georgia
Big 10 Championship: Indiana vs Ohio St - Ohio St
Big 12 Championship: BYU vs Texas Tech - Texas Tech
ACC Championship: Virginia vs Duke - Virginia
American Championship: North Texas at Tulane - North Texas
CUSA Championship: Kennesaw St at Jacksonville St - Kennesaw St
MAC Championship: Western Michigan vs. Miami, Ohio - Western Michigan
Sun Belt Championship: Troy at James Madison - J. Madison
Rosie Langello (Sports Director - WSFA Ch. 12)
153-72 (12-3) .680
Class 1A: Maplesville vs Wadley - Wadley
Class 2A: Lanett vs Coosa Christian - Lanett
Class 3A: Mars Hill Bible vs Bayside Academy - Bayside Aca
Class 4A:Jackson vs Anniston - Jackson
Class 5A: Vigor vs Moody - Moody
Class 6A: Saraland vs. Clay-Chalkville - Clay-Chalkville
Class 7A: Thompson vs Opelika - Thompson
SEC Championship: Alabama vs Georgia - Georgia
Big 10 Championship: Indiana vs Ohio St - Ohio St
Big 12 Championship: BYU vs Texas Tech - Texas Tech
ACC Championship: Virginia vs Duke - Virginia
American Championship: North Texas at Tulane - Tulane
CUSA Championship: Kennesaw St at Jacksonville St - Jax St
MAC Championship: Western Michigan vs. Miami, Ohio - Western Michigan
Sun Belt Championship: Troy at James Madison - J. Madison