When the SEC added South Carolina and Arkansas to the conference in 1992, the talk at spring meetings was twofold.
The league wasn’t just introducing its new members. It was also publicizing the first SEC Championship football game, which would be played at the end of the year.
Expansion will again be a hot topic at next week’s spring meetings. Texas and Oklahoma are finally officially card-carrying members. Additionally, the football championship game has been adjusted. Since the league has abandoned divisional play, the two best overall teams will play for the title.
But how much does anyone care?
Playoff qualification now exceeds all other measures of success in college football. Making the playoffs overshadows the conference championship game.
Once you qualify for the playoffs, you have a path to a national championship. So what if you don’t win your Power 4 conference. If you make the playoffs as an at-large team, you can still win the national championship.
This is just another reminder of how college football is getting closer to the NFL model. If you win a Super Bowl, does anyone remember if you failed to win your conference or division? Of course.
Tennessee hasn’t qualified for the SEC championship game since 2007. But if it fails again this season, its fans shouldn’t be gritting their teeth.
Conference playoff games will no longer have the same meaning.
The SEC championship game served as an excellent showcase for the conference. And the result often catapulted the winner into a national championship.
For example, let’s look at the first conference championship game in 1992. Undefeated Alabama barely held off Steve Spurrier’s Florida Gators and later defeated the Miami Hurricanes for the national title.
Two other matchups between Florida and Alabama also rank among the most memorable SEC championship games.
Tim Tebow led the Gators to a narrow victory over the Tide in the 2008 SEC championship. Florida defeated Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl for its second national championship in three seasons.
Alabama rallied to defeat Florida in the 2009 game. That game put Florida coach Urban Meyer in the hospital and led to Alabama’s first of six national titles under coach Nick Saban.
But even a four-team playoff lessened the impact of the conference championship game. In 2017, Auburn beat Alabama to win the SEC West but lost to Georgia in the SEC championship game.
However, sitting out SEC play was to Alabama’s advantage. Qualified for the playoffs and beat Georgia in overtime to win the national championship game.
Losing the conference championship game could be even more beneficial in a 12-team playoff. With 12 teams in the playoffs, I can’t imagine having less than four SEC teams. And five isn’t out of the question.
So how bad would it be to finish third in the SEC? Of course, this could cost him a College Football Playoff bye. However, it would also allow you to avoid going head to head with one of the best teams in the country in the SEC championship. This is the equivalent of a goodbye.
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Tennessee last won the SEC championship in 1998. That was a huge accomplishment. However, it didn’t compare to what came next – a victory over Florida State in the national championship game.
Reaching the SEC championship game this season would constitute progress for Tennessee. But making the College Football Playoff would be a bigger deal.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He can be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@konxnews.com. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.
This article originally appeared in the Knoxville News Sentinel: Why Tennessee football could benefit from finishing third in the SEC
