SEC Unfiltered: Who needs playoff expansion? Plenty do, but not the SEC

Blake Toppmeyer, Nashville Tennessean
·2 min read
Dec 4, 2021; Atlanta, GA, USA; Alabama linebacker Henry To'o To'o (10) holds the championship trophy as the team makes their way to the locker room after the SEC championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Alabama defeated Georgia 41-24. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 4, 2021; Atlanta, GA, USA; Alabama linebacker Henry To'o To'o (10) holds the championship trophy as the team makes their way to the locker room after the SEC championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Alabama defeated Georgia 41-24. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to SEC Unfiltered, the USA TODAY NETWORK's daily newsletter on SEC football. Today, SEC columnist Blake Toppmeyer takes over:

If the 12-team playoff were here today, the SEC wouldn’t be the biggest beneficiary.

Conference leaders outside the SEC might fear that a 12-team field would become a party in which the SEC gobbles up most of the hors d'oeuvres. But at least the other leagues would be invited.

This year’s four-team field of Alabama, Michigan, Cincinnati and Georgia features no representative from the ACC, Big 12 or Pac-12.

And yet, it’s not the SEC standing in the way of a 12-team playoff.

While the SEC accounted this year for 50% of the playoff bids in the current format, in a 12-team bracket, the SEC would have claimed just one additional bid. No. 8 Ole Miss, which is headed to the Sugar Bowl, would become a playoff participant.

The SEC would account for 25% of the bids in a 12-team field this year. The Big Ten would have matched the SEC's three qualifiers in a 12-team field, while the Big 12 would have garnered two bids.

The breakdown:

SEC: No. 1 Alabama, No. 3 Georgia, No. 8 Ole Miss

Big Ten: No. 2 Michigan, No. 6 Ohio State, No. 10 Michigan State

Big 12: No. 7 Baylor, No. 9 Oklahoma State

AAC: No. 4 Cincinnati

ACC: No. 12 Pittsburgh

Independent: No. 5 Notre Dame

Pac-12: No. 11 Utah

Conference leaders continue to discuss playoff expansion but can’t get on the same page for either the selection format or the size of the field – eight or 12?

The SEC is comfortable with either four or 12 teams. It doesn’t desire an eight-team field.

The status quo works just fine for the SEC, though. It enjoys a small, select party while other leagues are left out in the cold.

Blake Toppmeyer is an SEC Columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer. If you enjoy Blake’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: SEC Unfiltered: Who needs playoff expansion? Plenty do, but not the SEC