SEC wants more playoff favoritism as Greg Sankey complains about 'unsatisfactory' talks with CFB Playoff

There whitethorn beryllium thing much predictable than nan SEC complaining astir something.

Last play was a microcosm of nan shifting landscape successful assemblage football, which has undermined nan SEC's arguments and proclamations of superiority. For nan 3rd consecutive season, nan SEC was unopen retired of nan National Championship game. They went 1-8 successful vessel games against different Power 4 convention teams and 0-3 successful nan College Football Playoff.

That wasn't an outlier, fixed caller history, it was much of nan same. Over nan past 3 tournaments, including games against non-Power 4 teams and in-conference opponents, nan SEC is conscionable 5-9. Their closest competitor, nan Big Ten, is 13-5.

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Indiana caput coach Curt Cignetti speaks during news convention up of nan College Football Playoff nationalist title crippled betwixt Miami and Indiana, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, successful Miami. The crippled will beryllium played connected Monday. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

For years, the convention has enjoyed preferential curen based connected nan presumption that they were heads and shoulders supra nan remainder of nan field. Once nan SEC's signature program, nan Alabama Crimson Tide successful 2025 exemplified those advantages. After a play successful which they mislaid to an atrocious Florida State squad and contempt getting obliterated by nan Georgia Bulldogs successful nan SEC Championship Game, they were still voted successful to nan playoff by nan action committee. The first clip successful nan history of nan action committee canvass that a squad mislaid successful a convention title and did not driblet successful nan rankings. All because voters assumed that simply reaching nan SEC Championship Game and beating Georgia was an unimaginable accomplishment.

For astir outsider observers, this was a motion that nan SEC mightiness beryllium getting excessively overmuch in installments from nan committee. For commissioner Greg Sankey? It was an opportunity to kick to nan action committee that they aren't fixed capable typical advantages.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey speaks astatine nan SEC Football Media Day astatine Tampa Marriott Water Street successful Tampa, Fla., connected July 20, 2026. (Parker S. Freedman/Getty Images)

Per On3's Brett McMurphy, Sankey said he had "unsatisfactory" talks pinch unit astir their deficiency of appreciation for nan SEC.

"I’m really 1 who believes competitors want a awesome challenge. We person heard astir spot of schedule, spot of record," he said. "We had what I would telephone an unsatisfactory speech pinch College Football Playoff unit (at outpouring meetings). We person questions astir them knowing nan spot (of nan SEC)."

Sure. Five of nan 12 teams successful past year's field were from nan SEC. Sankey, of course, astatine nan time, complained that it should person been more. As did Texas caput coach Steve Sarkisian, who said excluding nan 9-3 and undeserving Longhorns would beryllium a "disservice to nan sport."

If you look up "entitlement" successful nan dictionary, you'll spot an image of nan SEC logo.

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This is what drives fans of teams from different conferences crazy astir nan SEC's endless complaining: they simply garbage to prosecute rationally pinch reality. Everything is nan infamous hypothetical. "Ohio State would suffer 10 games successful nan SEC." "Florida would spell undefeated successful nan Big Ten." "Nothing compares pinch playing connected nan roadworthy successful Mississippi State."

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Or nan classics, "our non-conference schedules are harder, moreover erstwhile we play 4 bad teams astatine home." "Never leaving our clip area is really harder than walking crossed nan state for illustration different teams do, because of nan names of nan teams we play successful conference." "Playing FCS games successful November conscionable shows really heavy our schedules are."

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey speaks to nan property during SEC Football Kickoff Media Day astatine nan Tampa Marriott successful Tampa, Fla., connected July 20, 2026. (Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images)

Every azygous antagonistic information constituent is dismissed. Name worth is prioritized complete results. Recruiting rankings and NFL players from 2021 is simply a substitute for existent measurements of squad strength. As Bud Elliot pointed retired connected X, "Tennessee and Missouri didn't hit a squad pinch a winning record. LSU was virtually 7-6."

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The bully news? That nan College Football Playoff unit apparently didn't perceive to Sankey's complaining. They shouldn't. His occupation is to advocator for his teams, reality beryllium damned. A near-perfect practice of nan conference's fanbase, arsenic a matter of fact. But nan action committee isn't expected to make nan SEC happy, it's expected to prime nan 12 teams to play successful nan tournament. And fixed nan SEC's caller performance, it's easy to make nan lawsuit that they should get less spots, not more.