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Lane Kiffin reveals there are SEC coaches who don’t want to play in conference championship game
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Lane Kiffin may have made things a bit awkward with Greg Sankey for some of the league coaches. The Ole Miss head coach candidly revealed that not every SEC title contender is looking forward to playing in Atlanta next month.
Kiffin shared Monday that he has talked to coaches who would rather avoid playing in the SEC Championship Game if losing the game means dropping out of College Football Playoff contention. The winner, though, as Kiffin mentions, would almost certainly receive one of the byes for the top 4 conference champions.
Lane Kiffin on the SEC championship game: “The conference championship could have a big impact both ways. I’ve talked to some other coaches, and the feeling is that they don’t want to get in it. The reward to get a bye (in the playoffs) versus the risk of getting knocked out…
— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) November 18, 2024
Texas and Texas A&M are the only SEC teams with just 1 conference loss. Since the Longhorns and Aggies play in the regular season, the SEC Championship Game is guaranteed to include a team with at least 2 total losses. (Texas has only lost to Georgia. Texas A&M has 2 total losses to Notre Dame and South Carolina.)
With so many 2-loss teams fighting for Playoff spots, it’s understandable that coaches are worried a 3rd loss might drop them out of 1 of the 12 CFP spots. This is the first year of the 12-team Playoff field. It’s not immediately clear how the selection committee will handle conference championship game losses for at-large candidates.
Plenty of fans and coaches are eagerly awaiting to see how everything plays out.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
