SEC Insider believes prestigious conference is one "final blow" away from getting kicked off its pedestal

The SEC is usually viewed as the most competitive conference in college football, with teams like Alabama and Tennessee often dominating throughout the year and contending for the National Championship. However, this season many of those usual top contenders have faltered. They struggled throughout the season and failed to advance far in the college football playoff.

Despite Alabama's failure, three SEC teams, Texas, Georgia and Tennessee, still qualified for the College Football Playoff. However, after two rounds, only Texas remains in contention for the semifinals.

Insider Paul Finebaum discussed the SEC's challenges in the bowl games and playoff matchups during an appearance on ESPN's "Get Up" on Friday. He said:

"There is a lot of schadenfreude going on in this country and that’s okay. The SEC? The big names have taken some very, very big hits. Tennessee, obviously Alabama in a lesser game. Georgia was the team that everyone was wrapping their arms around. And isn’t it remarkable that the lone SEC team was in the Big 12 a year ago in the College Football Playoff?"

Finebaum was referring to the fact that both Tennessee and Georgia were eliminated in the first two rounds of the playoff, leaving Texas as the only SEC representative still in contention. Before this season, the Longhorns did not even compete in the Southeastern Conference. They were in the Big 12 from 1998 to 2023. So, while the usual powerhouses were not successful this season, a newcomer to the conference is still standing.

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The SEC lost both playoff and non-playoff bowl games this year

Although the SEC was largely unsuccessful in the college football playoff, it is still impressive to have three teams qualify. Where things start to look bad for the conference is its record in non-playoff bowl games this year. The conference had an 8-6 overall record in the postseason, including four losses in non-playoff bowls.

Two of the conference's biggest brands in Alabama and South Carolina, both of which could have qualified for the college football playoff with one more win, lost their bowl games. Additionally, Oklahoma and Texas A&M lost in their bowl games.

As a result, the Big Ten is starting to look like the most competitive conference in college football. It is 4-1 against the Southeastern Conference in the postseason thus far and has a chance to increase that record when the Ohio State Buckeyes face the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10 and the semifinals of the college football playoff.