The SEC Championship has always been one of the most anticipated weekends in college football, but this year, it carries a unique wrinkle. With the debut of the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff format, the stakes look a little different - and for some teams, not playing this weekend might actually be an advantage.
Alabama and Georgia, two of the sport’s perennial powerhouses, are set to square off in Atlanta for the SEC crown. Both finished the regular season with identical 7-1 records in conference play, as did Texas A&M and Ole Miss. But thanks to tiebreakers, it’s the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs who earned the right - or depending on how you look at it, the burden - of playing one more game before the postseason begins.
Here’s the twist: under the old BCS and four-team CFP formats, this game was often a de facto playoff - win and you’re in. But with 12 teams now making the cut, some programs can lock up a playoff spot without risking a loss in a conference title game.
That’s the situation for A&M and Ole Miss. Despite not playing this weekend, they’re already safely in the playoff picture.
Alabama and Georgia, meanwhile, will battle in a high-stakes rematch with significant implications: a win likely earns a top-four seed and a first-round bye, while a loss could drop either team into a more precarious position.
But don’t expect Alabama to treat this game as anything less than a major opportunity. Head coach Kalen DeBoer made it clear that the Crimson Tide are embracing the moment.
“You go play because you love the challenge, you love the environment that you’re going to get to be a part of,” DeBoer said on Sunday. “This is a get-to moment for us, so the energy should be at the highest level possible. We should be extremely excited for this.”
That mindset has carried over to the players, too. Redshirt senior linebacker Deontae Lawson, speaking after Alabama’s dramatic Iron Bowl win, echoed his coach’s sentiments.
“Great opportunity to be the best team in the best conference,” Lawson said. “Just another opportunity.
If you win that game, first-round bye. Just a lot of opportunity out there.”
DeBoer is no stranger to this kind of situation. Two years ago, he led Washington into a Pac-12 Championship Game rematch with Oregon, having already beaten the Ducks earlier in the regular season.
Now, he faces a similar scenario with Alabama - trying to beat Georgia for the second time this year. The Tide edged the Bulldogs in Athens back on September 27, 24-20, in a game that now looms large in the playoff picture.
Asked about the challenge of beating a top-tier team twice in one season, DeBoer didn’t flinch.
“People can say one thing - ‘It’s hard to beat a team twice,’” he said. “Well, the game’s going to get played.
How do you prepare to be your best? What is it that you’ve got to continue to do?
You know what you are as a team. You have your identity.
You hang your hat on that. You just go play the game.
You play with confidence.”
That confidence will be crucial on Saturday, when two of college football’s most complete teams collide in Atlanta. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. CT on ABC, and while both squads may already have playoff spots in hand, the reward for winning is clear: a conference title, a likely top-four seed, and a coveted first-round bye.
For Alabama and Georgia, the SEC Championship isn’t just another game - it’s a statement. And in a new playoff era where margins are slimmer and paths more varied, that statement could carry more weight than ever.