Welcome to your Week 11 SEC analysis. This week, you get two for the price of one. We will still bring you all of your betting lines and storyline for the Week 11 SEC slate, but first, you get an added bonus. On Tuesday night, the College Football Playoff Committee unveiled its first rankings of the season. Last year, the committee had the audacity to pick four B1G teams over the SEC, including the team from Bloomington over Alabama, Ole Miss, and South Carolina. While the B1G was able to lock out the top two spots, the SEC has positioned itself well to improve upon last year’s selections. Before we get to the instant rankings reaction, let’s take a look at some of the changes to the CFB Playoff structure in 2025.
Changes to the CFB Playoffs in 2025
The big shakeup for the 2025-26 College Football Playoff is the switch to straight seeding for the entire 12-team field. Here is a quick overview:
- What’s Changing: The four highest-ranked teams in the final CFP rankings will now get the first-round byes — no matter what conference they’re from.
- How’s That Different from 2024? Last season, those byes went to the four highest-ranked conference champions (seeds 1–4). This new format tosses out that guarantee — if a conference champ isn’t in the top four, they’re playing in Round One.
- What Stays the Same? The five highest-ranked conference champions still receive automatic bids, so every league still has a path in. The other seven spots? At-large bids.
- Why is this a good thing? The 12-team bracket will now be seeded straight 1 through 12, based solely on the final CFP rankings. The goal here is pretty simple: reward the best teams, period, for what they did on the field all season.
2025 CFB Playoff Schedule
| Round | Game/Event | Date | Time (ET) | Location |
| First Round | Four Games:
|
Friday, Dec. 19, 2025
and Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025 |
TBD |
Campus Sites
(Higher Seed) |
| Quarterfinals | Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic | Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025 | 7:30 p.m. |
AT&T Stadium (Arlington, TX)
|
| Quarterfinals | Capital One Orange Bowl | Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026 | Noon |
Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, FL)
|
| Quarterfinals | Rose Bowl Game | Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026 | 4:00 p.m. |
Rose Bowl Stadium (Pasadena, CA)
|
| Quarterfinals | Allstate Sugar Bowl | Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026 | 8:00 p.m. |
Caesars Superdome (New Orleans, LA)
|
| Semifinals | Vrbo Fiesta Bowl | Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026 | 7:30 p.m. |
State Farm Stadium (Glendale, AZ)
|
| Semifinals | Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl | Friday, Jan. 9, 2026 | 7:30 p.m. |
Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta, GA)
|
| Championship | CFP National Championship | Monday, Jan. 19, 2026 | 7:30 p.m. |
Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, FL)
|
SEC CFB Playoff Rankings Instant Reactions
The committee’s votes are in. The SEC didn’t secure the top two spots; those went to the B1G’s Ohio State and Indiana. They locked out the next four spots, earning two of the four first-round home games. Hey, Jim Phillips and the ACC —look out for the Big 12. BYU and Texas Tech have their sights set on hosting the other two home games. The highest-ranked ACC team is Virginia at #14. The ACC has four teams in contention for likely one spot. Of those four, Georgia Tech has the biggest chance to make a move when it ends the regular season in Atlanta against Georgia. Here is a quick look at the four SEC teams that would be in if the Playoff were to start today.
In:
- #3 Texas A&M: would receive a first-round bye and play the winner of #11 Virginia vs. #6 Ole Miss
- #4 Alabama: would receive a first-round bye and play the winner of #12 Memphis vs. #5 Georgia
- #5 Georgia: would receive a first-round home playoff game in Athens and play Memphis
- #6 Ole Miss: would receive a first-round home playoff game in Oxford and play Virginia
Who is out and who is still in the hunt? Texas and Oklahoma are the first teams out. Both have difficult remaining schedules to stay in that spot. Tennessee is ranked #25, which is certainly a choice behind Michigan, Washington, and Pitt, but I suppose we will just let the results stand on the field. Here are the rest of your SEC teams that were ranked.
Out:
- #11Texas
- #12 Oklahoma
- #16 Vanderbilt
- #22 Missouri
- #25 Tennessee
The SEC had the most teams ranked in the initial poll. The SEC had 9, followed by the B1G with 7, the ACC with 5, and the Big 12 with 3. No G6 team was ranked.
Week 11 SEC Betting Lines
Fanduel Week 11 Betting Lines
Week 10 SEC rankings are based on the AP media poll. Lines and game totals are courtesy of FanDuel. All games are Eastern Standard Time. Check the links for insights from your favorite Last Word on College Football writers. After the lines, we’ll take a big picture look and predict the five biggest Week 11 SEC matchups on the weekend.
| Matchup | Date | Time | Channel | Line |
| No. 5 Georgia vs. Mississippi State | 11/8 | Noon | ESPN | #GoDawgs – 7.5 |
| The Citadel vs. No. 7 Ole Miss | 11/8 | 1:00 PM | SECN+ | N/A |
| No. 3 Texas A&M vs. No. 19 Missouri | 11/8 | 3:30 PM | ABC | #GigEm – 6.5 |
| Auburn vs. No. 15 Vanderbilt | 11/8 | 4:00 PM | SECN | #Vandy -6.5 |
| LSU vs. No. 4 Alabama | 11/8 | 7:00 PM | ABC | #RollTide – 9.5 |
| Florida vs. Kentucky | 11/8 | 7:30 PM | SECN | #Gators – 3.5 |
Picks Last Week
Texas held off a feisty Vandy squad. Can Arch lead them to a December playoff game? Georgia’s Death March dispatched Florida. South Carolina’s anemic performance on O was downright offensive. Arkansas had 18 penalties and still only lost in the final, 41 seconds against Mississippi State #FireBobbyP. Joey Aguilar put up 393 yards and three touchdowns against the Sooners. His three interceptions did him and the Vols in.
- Week 1: 3-2
- YTD: 31-19
No. 5 Georgia vs. Mississippi State
A bruch trap game? The Battle of the Bulldogs heads to StarkVegas for an 11 am local kick. Georgia continues to show it will not go quietly and beat teams late in the second half. They did it last week against Florida, just like they had to do against Ole Miss and Tennessee this year. Mississippi comes in as the winner of its first conference game after knocking off Arkansas. Look for the following script to play out. Hail State has the cowbells clanging early and jumps out to a 17-3 first-quarter lead, only to see Georgia come back and silence the bells late.
Pick: Georgia
No. 3 Texas A&M vs. No. 19 Missouri
It’s a blackout in CoMo. Missouri has been a fertile ground for good stories yet again in 2025. They almost knocked off Alabama and went toe-to-toe with Vandy in Nashville (yes, that is impressive in 2025) with their third-string QB two weeks ago. The Aggies are 8-0. Might this be the year they avoid 9-3 or 8-4? The committee does, and we do too. Too many injuries allow the Aggies to reach 9-0.
Pick: Texas A&M
Auburn vs. No. 15 Vanderbilt
Brother Hugh is gone. They were close, but no cigar. DJ Durkin gets his chance to impress John Cohen and the Auburn boosters as the Tigers head to Nashville. Durkin has been impressive leading Auburn’s defense. No team has been able to score more than 17 on the Tigers this year. Of course, Auburn scoring more than 17 has been the problem. Diego Pavia and Vandy looked pedestrian for three quarters Saturday in Austin. But a furious fourth-quarter comeback shows that Vandy may be dancing to a playoff birth before it is all said and done.
Pick: Auburn
LSU vs. No. 4 Alabama
Remember when this was the game? The last two years, the Tigers have had no punch against the Tide. Brian Kelly is gone, and this is now Frank Wilson’s show. Unlike Kelly, Wilson is a big part of the LSU family and has done his best to rally current and former Tigers in Baton Rouge. This one may be close for a half, but the Tide will prove too much in the second half.
Pick: Alabama
Florida vs. Kentucky
We’ve had three straight weeks with a coach from the SEC fired on Sunday. Mark Stoops remains atop the roost in Lexington. The Wildcats have been up and down on offense and defense this year. It is anybody’s guess what happens when they head to the Swamp. The Gators put up a fight against Georgia and always play well at home. This might be enough to give Billy Gonzalez his first win as head coach.
Pick: Florida
Main Photo: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
