They pitched this strange argument all offseason, begging anyone to hear and believe the once mighty SEC was still, from top to bottom, the best conference in college football.
Then went out and forced it into existence.
LSU humiliated Clemson, and Ole Miss (Louisville) and Auburn (Baylor) got last-play wins in Week 1. Then Texas A&M pounded Arizona State in Week 2, and Missouri thumped Kansas and whatever Mississippi State did to Minnesota may just be illegal in all 50 states.
Then Texas and its epic fourth-quarter comeback and win over No. 1 Ohio State late Saturday night removed all doubt: The SEC can still swing a big stick.
for Ohio State. He made a terrible call | Opinion
Even if it hasn’t won a national title since 2022.
“It’s just one win,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “We didn’t play well in the first half. We can’t play like that in our conference or we’ll be in trouble.”
Welcome back, SEC. We missed the arrogance. Missed you even more at the top of the USA TODAY Sports Playoff Predictor.
Even with Oklahoma’s ugly loss to Michigan, or Utah clobbering Arkansas so badly, it's still clear which conference found its guts in the early stages of a long, ever-changing season. The SEC is back for now, from top to bottom.
A look at this week’s Playoff Predictor, with five SEC teams making the field of 12:
Projected 2026 College Football Playoff field
1. Texas: Imagine what could’ve been if Texas didn’t screw around for three quarters against Ohio State.
2. Georgia: Tennessee State, WKU and now Arkansas. Is there really any difference?
3. LSU: I’m not sure it’s possible to further feed Lane Kiffin's ego, but we're sure going to try. All of us.
4. Notre Dame: We’re at the early stages of the Irish revenge tour (for what, I’m not exactly sure) until Miami shows up in South Bend in early November. So we’ve got that going for us. Which is nice.
5. Ohio State: Some advice for Ohio State coach Ryan Day: Put the ball in Jeremiah Smith’s hands. And fire Arthur Smith if he doesn’t.
6. Indiana: Call us for an eval when you’re through playing footsie with the dregs of FBS, fellas.
7. Miami: Wake Forest couldn’t be a trap game, a typical Miami meandering through the ACC and doesn’t care game, could it?
8. Ole Miss: Maybe the defense is pacing itself, lying in wait for LSU and all that offensive talent. Or maybe it’s going to get ugly, quickly in Oxford.
9. Michigan: The defense, my god, the defense. You wanted Kyle Whittingham, Michigan, and got the whole defensive show the past two weeks.
10. Texas A&M: Am I the only one who’s a little nervous about the way Marcel Reed played against Arizona State?
11. BYU: I’ve seen the best the Big 12 has to offer, and if something doesn’t change quickly, we need to sprint to the "best teams" format for future CFPs.
12. Boise State: Blew the Oregon game, then blew out a good Memphis team. Clearly the early and strong Group of 5 leader.
The first round
- Boise State (12) at Ohio State (5)
- BYU (11) at Indiana (6)
- Texas A&M (10) at Miami (7)
- Michigan (9) at Ole Miss (8)
The quarterfinals
- Texas (1) vs. Michigan-Ole Miss winner
- Georgia (2) vs. Texas A&M-Miami winner
- LSU (3) vs. BYU-Indiana winner
- Notre Dame (4) vs. Boise State-Ohio State winner
Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB. Listen to him daily, from 12-2 p.m., on 1010XL-Jacksonville.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Playoff Predictor: Welcome back, SEC. We've missed the CFP arrogance
