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Just over a month before the SEC Championship game and as cases of COVID-19 continue to complicate matters, the league has announced new tie-breaking scenarios.
As it stands, Alabama and Florida are on track to finish the conference title game on December 19. Both are in the sole possession of division heads with favorable schedules ahead, but if this year has taught us anything, it’s to take nothing for granted.
With that in mind, the SEC has released its Tie-Breaking Method If Things Go Wrong.
And before I get into the storylines, everything that follows comes with a giant caveat.
In the event of “unforeseen extraordinary circumstances” relating to Championship Game eligibility, Commissioner Greg Sankey has the authority to “take any appropriate action deemed necessary” to resolve the matter. This includes the ability to form a “governing body or to use any existing group of institutional representatives,” says the breach of equality document.
That said, the updated formula seems to work well for Alabama in case they need a tiebreaker.
If he loses one of the last three scheduled games and Texas A&M (5-1) wins four in a row, the advantage would always be with the Tide (6-0) regardless of the winning percentage. Alabama’s 52-24 head-to-head victory over the Aggies would outweigh a better winning percentage if A&M finished 9-1 over Alabama’s potential 8-1.
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This all assumes that both teams can complete the rest of the schedule as planned and that, of course, is not guaranteed.
The league has also set the eligibility parameters for the Championship game and this is where the responsibility for postponements and cancellations comes in. To play December 19 in Atlanta, teams must have played in only one game of the average number of matches played by conference teams.
“For example,” says the SEC document, “if the average number of conference games played in the 2020 season is 9.25 (value of nine (9) when rounded down) , a team would be eligible to participate in the SEC Championship Football game. , or be considered for a tiebreaker, if that team has played eight (8) or more conference games. “
But there is a safety net for teams that have canceled games through no fault of their own.
If one team had a game interrupted because the other team had an outbreak of COVID-19 (like Alabama in the LSU game), it would not count towards the total. It would be added to the total number of games without being counted as a win or a loss. That would mean Alabama would have a 6-0 record and seven games played, if the LSU’s postponement turned into a full cancellation.
However, only one of these games can be added to that total under these circumstances, regardless of how many games are canceled due to outbreaks elsewhere.
And if the December 19 SEC title game is called off, the two division winners will be declared co-champions and the PSC would determine who made the playoffs and who would represent the SEC in the Sugar Bowl.
Read it full SEC tie-breaker document here if there is any confusion.
Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on twitter @ByCasagrande Or on Facebook.
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