One camera and reporter after another lined up to document the moment when Oklahoma coach Brent Venables made his way to the microphone here at SEC Media Days on Tuesday.
It was a historic day for the league, and OU proudly looked the part of a bona fide member of the Southeastern Conference. From Day 1, the Sooners and all of their passionate fans belonged in the SEC.
But does that mean these newbies have even the slightest hope of making the College Football Playoff as a first-year member of the toughest league in sports?
Let me ask that another way.
Does a covered wagon on the Plains stand a chance against a tornado? Maybe so, but the SEC’s new wagon riders need to get a little lucky against a diabolically twisted schedule.
The College Football Playoff is expanding from four to 12 teams this season. The SEC would love to land four teams in the inaugural field. To help the league’s chances of maximizing its spots in the CFP, the SEC decided to do away with the conference’s two-division format and go with a single, 16-team model.
The two teams with the best records at the end of the season will meet in the SEC championship game in Atlanta. Presumably, both of those teams will also make the national playoff. The SEC is then hoping that teams three and four will also receive at-large bids.
