Paul Finebaum: It's 'very easy' to draw up a College Football Playoff path with no SEC teams

At least one team out of the Southeastern Conference has made the College Football Playoff in every year since its inception. However, in the final year of the four-team field, Paul Finebaum clearly sees a world where that streak could come to an end.

Finebaum addressed the chance of the SEC missing the CFP on ‘McElroy and Cubelic In The Morning’ on Monday. He thinks people need to realize that there’s a possibility that it happens, especially since a few of the conference’s potential contenders have non-conference losses to other playoff hopefuls.

“I think there has to be some pause,” said Finebaum.

“I like the odds of the SEC getting in. Maybe that’s some bullishness on my part or bullheadedness on my part I should say. But, yeah, it’s very easy to draw up a path,” Finebaum said. “It involves a couple of undefeated teams. It probably involved a Florida State–LSU situation where they trump LSU. And the Texas over Alabama thing comes back into it.”

The only SEC teams that still truly have a shot are Georgia, Alabama, Ole Miss, and Missouri with LSU as part of that conversation as well. Realistically, though, most of the focus is on the Bulldogs, Crimson Tide, and the two-loss Tigers out of Baton Rouge.

Finebaum said as much too based on how he discredited the shot that the Rebels still have.

“For those who want to keep throwing Ole Miss at us? That’s fine – the path is so narrow and they need Alabama to drop two games,” said Finebaum. “That’s pretty unlikely.”

Much of this discussion rests on who makes it into the SEC Championship unscathed and wins it. That’s a lot simpler for Georgia even though they’re about to face a tough stretch without their best player. As for Alabama, Ole Miss, and LSU, much of this will come down to what happens inside Bryant-Denny Stadium this weekend when the Tide and Tigers clash for the shot to represent their division in Atlanta.

With this kind of cannibalization, the SEC could be the ones to keep themselves out of the College Football Playoff. Having several undefeated or one-loss options across the nation isn’t going to help their case either.

Still, as Finebaum pointed out, there’s still a month left to go before the committee decides anything official. A lot can change and, as we’ve seen before, the initial playoff rankings aren’t necessarily set in stone with November’s games still needing to be played.

“I still think there’s going to be a lot of carnage,” said Finebaum. “I think we get really hung up. And I don’t want to dissuade from not being excited about tomorrow night. But we’ve had two times in the past, the first year out and last year, where the No. 1 team didn’t make the playoff.”