The SEC will not have a representative in the national championship game that will pit the independent Notre Dame Fighting Irish against the Big Ten's Ohio State Buckeyes on Jan. 20. Commissioner Greg Sankey's Southeastern Conference lost its last representative when the Texas Longhorns were beaten 28-14 in the Cotton Bowl Classic by the Buckeyes.
During an appearance on ESPN's "The Matt Barrie Show" on Sunday, outspoken ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum discussed the concerning trend regarding the conference's waning influence in the College Football Playoff.
“That is significant, and I know everybody always thinks that those of us who live in SEC country try to hide things like that," Finebaum said (0:32). "But that is a dramatic moment. It's a seminal moment in a time that I really didn't expect, especially with a 12-team playoff. I mean, to think that we are in that moment is cause for a lot of concern, at least in the southern part of the world.
“I don't care what any of my colleagues say in the South. There's no way to sugarcoat this year for the SEC. There's no way to – there's no way to say anything other than we got a team from Indiana and a team from Ohio playing for the national championship in Atlanta."
The damning statistics against the SEC
The statistics that point to the sliding influence of the Southeastern Conference paint a grim picture for the conference, which has produced 13 of the last 18 national champions.
The conference had four representatives in the AP Top 25 preseason poll, topped by coach Kirby Smart's Georgia Bulldogs, followed by the No. 4 Texas Longhorns, No. 5 Alabama Crimson Tide and the No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels.
Ole Miss and Alabama did not make the College Football Playoff, while the Tennessee Volunteers, who made it, were smashed 42-17 by the rampant Ohio State Buckeyes in the first round. They were followed out by the Bulldogs, who were beaten 23-10 by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Sugar Bowl. Finally, the Longhorns were also dumped out by the Buckeyes.
This will be the second consecutive season the conference will not have a representative in the national championship game, the first time since 2004. The Big Ten also finished with a winning record against the Southeastern Conference (6-4) in the regular season for the first time since 2019 to further assert its dominance.
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