Ranking SEC teams with best College Football Playoff chances

On the outside looking in

10. Missouri Tigers

Missouri has four winnable games down the stretch against unranked opponents and that could allow it to finish 10-2 overall. However, poor play in blowout losses to Texas A&M and Alabama has likely put too great of a dent into the Tigers’ playoff resume.

9. Vanderbilt Commodores

Vanderbilt already has three losses overall, including an ugly road defeat at Georgia State, making it unlikely that the Commodores will sneak into the playoff. Adding wins over LSU and Tennessee to a resume including a victory over Alabama could spark some conversation, but Vanderbilt likely needed to beat Texas in Week 9 to have a serious chance.

8. Arkansas Razorbacks

Arkansas also has three losses overall but has a big head-to-head win over Tennessee and gets Ole Miss and Texas at home in its next two games. Wins there could propel the Razorbacks to a top-three SEC finish and would give them a potentially compelling playoff case, but it’s still hard to imagine they would get in over teams that beat them like Texas A&M and LSU.