The SEC Championship Game, once celebrated as the crown jewel of arguably college football’s toughest conference, is starting to lose its shine.
With the new 12-team College Football Playoff (CFP) format, the landscape has shifted, and some teams see more risk than reward in playing for the conference title.
Lane Kiffin, head coach at Ole Miss, didn’t hold back when discussing the changing dynamics earlier this week.
“I’ve talked to other coaches,” he shared, “and they don’t want to be in it.”
A trip to Atlanta now comes with a dangerous downside: losing in the SEC Championship could potentially cost a team its playoff spot entirely, while sitting out might actually guarantee a safer path to the CFP.
This isn’t just about wins and losses—it’s also about health and strategy. Kiffin mentioned the physical toll of an additional high-stakes game.
“You’re going to go get more injuries, play another game to get a bye, but then the other people are having their bye while you’re playing,” he said.
The irony here is striking. The SEC Championship has become a potential stumbling block in the race for a national title. For some, skipping it entirely seems like the smarter move. With several SEC teams in playoff contention — including Georgia, Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas, and Texas A&M — the idea of avoiding Atlanta altogether doesn’t sound as crazy as it might have in years past.
The SEC Championship has become nothing more than a bowl game for many. Sure, there are still perks to winning the game. You get a bye through the first-round, and get to hang a banner for winning the conference title. But, if it comes at a cost for advancing deeper into the postseason, does it truly even matter?
We're already seeing changes to the way teams are emphasizing games in the regular season and it seems like only a matter of time before the conference title games become extinct. This especially will be the case once the SEC and Big Ten push for more expansion, even as they're cutting out the other conferences.