College football fans love a good debate, and nothing stirs the pot quite like early College Football Playoff projections. The latest way-too-early prediction has SEC fans seeing red—again.
According to this forecast from NCAA's Stan Becton, the SEC would only land three bids in the 12-team format: Texas, Tennessee, and LSU. Meanwhile, the Big Ten would secure four spots with Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State, and Illinois. Yeah, Illinois. Let that sink in.
Naturally, SEC fans are bound to take issue with this, arguing that their conference is the toughest in college football. And hey, they're not entirely wrong—the SEC has long been the gold standard, dominating national championships and producing powerhouse teams year after year.
But let's be real for a second: should any conference, even the mighty SEC or the Big Ten, really get more than three bids in a 12-team playoff? If you can't finish in the top three of your own conference, do you really deserve a shot at the national title? Some might say yes, but others would say no.
Expanding the playoff was supposed to create more opportunities for teams from across the country, not just pad the résumés of powerhouse conferences. But if the early predictions hold true, the balance of power is shifting more in favor of the Big Ten, with their four potential bids dwarfing the SEC's three for a second-straight season.
For SEC fans, seeing Illinois in the mix has to be especially frustrating. The Fighting Illini aren't exactly a perennial contender, and their inclusion might feel like an insult to teams like Alabama or Georgia, who are nowhere to be found in this early projection.
Ultimately, it's too early to put too much stock in these predictions, but they do provide a glimpse into how the format will continue to shake up the landscape of college football. And while it's fun to argue about which conference is the strongest, at the end of the day, if your team isn't finishing top-three in your own league, maybe it's time to accept that the playoff just isn't going to be a guarantee, well, at least until they change it again.
Whether SEC fans like it or not, it looks like the Big Ten is poised to take over the spotlight—at least for now.