The SEC championship will see the Alabama Crimson Tide face off against the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC championship game this Saturday in Atlanta.
This championship game comes on the backdrop of the Texas A&M Aggies wrapping up their regular season with just one loss this season, but that single loss meant that Mike Elko’s squad won’t be playing in the SEC Championship Game, despite matching the conference records of both Georgia and Alabama at 7-1.
As absurd as it is seeing an 11-1 team miss out on the conference title game, the answer lies in the SEC’s newly implemented tiebreaker rules.
When multiple teams finish with identical conference records, the SEC first examines head-to-head results between the tied teams. With no clear head-to-head winners, the conference then moved to step two, which evaluates records against common conference opponents.
Each team’s performance against shared opponents is evaluated closely. The teams that performed best against this pool subsequently qualify ahead.
The #SEC has officially released the tie breaker rules for the conference coming up on this 2024 season. What’s talk thoughts? Let us know! ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/WwA1Fc9V5g
— College Football Space (@CFBspace) August 22, 2024
The third tiebreaker, as per SEC rules, would have examined the teams’ records against the highest-ranked common conference opponent and then continued down the standings until the tie was broken. Step four looks at the cumulative winning percentages of all conference opponents.
Meanwhile, the fifth tiebreaker considers relative scoring margins amongst all the tied teams.
If none of the aforementioned tiebreakers result in a definitive answer, a random draw is then set in place to decide which team moves forward in the conference.
While these tiebreaker rules are set in place to combat a situation just like the one faced in the SEC conference this year, some analysts have called out these procedures for lacking transparency and being convoluted.
Texas A&M HC Mike Elko Seeks For Clarity As Aggies Lose On SEC Championship Berth
Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko left no stone unturned when speaking on his team’s SEC championship snub after the Aggies suffered a 27-17 loss at the hands of the Texas Longhorns.
Elko, during A&M’s national signing day, was super blunt about the lack of clarity and understanding as far as the SEC rules are concerned.
“I think we are all screaming for some clarity … of what exactly is the criteria that we’re utilizing to break ties. I don’t know that anybody has a real firm understanding of what that actually is,” Elko stated (44:09).
He also defended his team’s schedule strength, insinuating how that cannot possibly be grounds for a championship game snub.
The Aggies are now most likely set to face Notre Dame in the 2025 CFB playoffs.
Also Read:
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