The first College Football Playoff rankings landed Nov. 3 with ten SEC teams in the top 25: Georgia No. 2, Alabama No. 5, Kentucky No. 6, Texas No. 7, Tennessee No. 13, Missouri No. 18, South Carolina No. 21, Florida No. 24. Against the Associated Press poll, only two of the ten sat in the same place; the other eight all ranked higher with the committee.
The Locked On SEC host who convened the panel argued that gap is the committee stating its priorities out loud. Strength of schedule is being rewarded and head-to-head results are not, he said, which is why the conference’s nine-game slate now pays. The comparison with the AP, in his words, tells you right there that the SEC is getting credit.
The Locked On Vols host called Alabama’s No. 5 the one line he could not defend. Alabama and Tennessee are both 6-2, Tennessee beat Alabama in Knoxville, and the committee still separated them by eight spots. He called that embarrassing, noting Tennessee’s two losses came by a combined six points.
Both hosts found the same inconsistency. The committee credited Alabama for beating Mississippi State while the Bulldogs were ranked and their quarterback healthy, which the Locked On Vols host accepted. The Locked On SEC host said the same logic has to reach Kentucky’s win at Texas A&M, won when the Aggies were No. 9, or the standard is a slippery slope.
On Georgia’s trip to Oxford, the panel split. The Locked On Vols host took Georgia, saying he trusts it more than any team in America and that its defense has found new life, though an Ole Miss win would not shock him. The Locked On SEC host took Ole Miss, calling it a game the Rebels should win.
Photo: Ole Miss Rebels fans dressed as “Smurfs”, October 31, 2026, at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images.
Adapted from the November 5, 2026 episode of the SEC Squad show, carried on Locked On Ole Miss, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Watch the full episode.