If you schedule four non conference cupcakes and only lose one SEC game, you're pretty much guaranteed a top twelve as an SEC team with only one loss, right? Or am I delusional.

in the past (so one year) you'd be correct. but they have now said out of conference will matter, so bookmark this for december to see if they were true to their word

Interesting, I just wonder how hard it must be to pass an
11-1 team from the SEC. But we will see, thank you for the answer.

11-1 is going to get an SEC team in regardless of who the non-conference teams are. but with the move to 9 game conference schedule, one OOC game has to be ND or from the other power 3 conference.

Its when they are 9-3 that it will become an issue. playing good teams OOC is supposed to help you in that scenario. in theory, scheduling michigan and losing a good game should be better for your chances than thumping northwestern

guess we will see in december.

Not last year

TBD this year

BigAggFan23 said:

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Interesting, I just wonder how hard it must be to pass an
11-1 team from the SEC. But we will see, thank you for the answer.

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I highly doubt that it means a team that goes 7-1 in SEC would get left out (even if all OOC games were cupcakes).

But I do think it means that if you're trying to decide at the bubble between teams that went 6-2 in SEC and 7-1 in ACC, but the SEC team played all OOC cupcakes and the ACC team beat an OOC top 10 and top 25 - then the ACC team might get in ahead.

7-1 is an unlikely record 7-1 probably gets you into the CCG win and you're in the playoffs lose it and you are 7-2

If that 7-2 included the worst teams then theoretically this hypothetical team would be 2-2 against actual competition.
Now the name on the front of the jersey might make the difference Missouri & Arky might get left out
tu & UT probably are in

Very long way to say 7-1 probably gets a team in but possibly not

If you only lose one SEC game, you will be in regardless of your OOC schedule.

As has already been said, the hair splitting that may or may not get you left out will be when comparing teams with 2 or 3 SEC losses.
Say you have two teams that go 6-2 in SEC play, one plays 4 cupcakes OOC the other loses to a Top 10 OOC in a close game. In that scenario, the 9-3 may deserve to be in more than the 10-2 team. Especially, when the conference scheduling can vary so much with only 8 games and 16 teams.
It's like, if you go 10-2 but lose to the only 2 good teams you play, you should not get in over a 9-3 team that went 3-3 against 6 good teams.

BigAggFan23 said:

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If you schedule four non conference cupcakes and only lose one SEC game, you're pretty much guaranteed a top twelve as an SEC team with only one loss, right? Or am I delusional.

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10-2 is guaranteed in the playoffs too. And 9-3 is approaching as guaranteed as a record that gets you in playoffs out of the Big10 & SEC.


Rejoice, 9-3 SEC teams! The College Football Playoff awaits | Toppmeyer
https://www.knoxnews.com/story/sports/college/university-of-tennessee/football/2025/08/27/college-football-playoff-criteria-record-sec/85833511007/

I think it matters for the teams on the fringe. A 9-3 team will most likely make the playoffs this year. Who that team is will probably depend on SOS

2023 FSU anger intensifies.

Thank yall for these amazing answers, it seems like I didn't have a great hypothetical, but yall cleared the air regardless.

Depends on who you are.
Not all in the CFB universe are equal.

Strength of schedule never matters, unless it is needed to justify leaving a deserving team off the list. Exhibit A, A&M 2020. "The SEC was weak except for Alabama, look at the records!" (forgetting that all the SEC teams played an all-SEC schedule, so half of them had to lose those games).

i don't care who you play in OOC you go 11-1 and play in the sec your in the 12 team playoff. maybe not the 4 team but with the expansion to 12 ur in.

It all depends on who the team in question is. Lets face it, a blueblood is getting in every time if its close. Weak schedule or not.

Hubert J. Farnsworth said:

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It all depends on who the team in question is. Lets face it, a blueblood is getting in every time if its close.

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You mean like Alabama last year?

Nice troll, OP

SMU (ACC) 11-3 was ranked 12 in 2024.

So, yes.

BMX Bandit said:

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Hubert J. Farnsworth said:

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It all depends on who the team in question is. Lets face it, a blueblood is getting in every time if its close.

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You mean like Alabama last year?

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Alabama got left out because last year the committee decided that ccg losers from the big 4 conferences would all get bids
So for the last 2 spots it was Indiana The Vols or Bama and this time being bama was not enough and the committee went with 11-1 IU

So you agree that " blueblood is getting in every time if its close" is not accurate.

Thanks & gig em!

Bama also got stomped by a 0.500 ou team. That didn't help their resume at all.

BMX Bandit said:

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in the past (so one year) you'd be correct. but they have now said out of conference will matter, so bookmark this for december to see if they were true to their word

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only if it gets their favored blue bloods in - they move the goal posts every to justify their picks

BMX Bandit said:

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So you agree that " blueblood is getting in every time if its close" is not accurate.

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Devil's advocate: it was only close because Alabama is a Blueblood.