As good as the SEC is, I don't think that they should be automatically given a place in the title game. I've watched a great Boise St team for the last six years get shafted (outside of missed FGs) from having a chance to play for a National Title. Defensively there are a few teams outside of the SEC who may have given any of their top teams fits. Is the SEC the elite conference in college football? Absolutely, should they be handed a spot in the title game?> No.

I do not have a favorite team. Just had to get that out first.
The SEC already gets an auto spot because they are all ESPN talks about so all the top recruits and media polls are constantly told they are elite so of course that's where they want to be. TV exposure every weekend for teams like LSU or Notre Dame(not SEC) guarantees these teams stay on top. Until there is at least a two round playoff the championship is not really a championship it is a three ring circus.
IMO college footballs whole system is fatally corrupt right now. Most of these decisions are made by money not play of teams. Good example would be the suspensions handed out to USC vs the players suspended from Miami.

USC had Reggie Busch his dad took a house he took a car. USC suspended 3 years for one players action. Miami had players taking cash and all sorts of trouble only those players were suspended till they could pay the money back. Then were allowed to return. I bring this up because the member of the board that suspended USC is or was, I'm not sure of his status still. On the board for MIAMI.
College football is just a money maker for rich old men and the best part they don't even have to pay the players except to pay for their education. Most of these athletes don't even come out of school with a solid education, insted the school tells them they can only really have time for a physical therapy degree.
NFL is where it's at at least there they don't misguide us with talk of it's for the players. They know and we know they are here for our entertainment and there profit hands down.
Bottom line at least I know where the NFL is coming from. They are honest about it money.

Even though I am a SEC fan when my Gators aren't playing anyone inside the SEC or when another team is playing a Non-Conference opponent, I don't believe that the SEC should have an automatic bid. It takes away from everything SEC team work for. All I want is a good game whether or not an SEC team is involved. If the SEC is given an Automatic Bid in the Title game that really waters down the product the NCAA is driving for.

It all depends on the champion. I don't want an SEC team who has lost more games than other teams to be in the National Title just because of playing in the SEC. Every team goes into a season with a shot to win the championship. The PAC 12 and the B1G this year are both pretty powerful, whose to say a team goes undefeated in each of those gets snubbed by a 2 loss SEC team.

Vandy, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Miss St, A&M, Mizzou....throw in some FCS teams early in the year. Quite the guantlett.

Not to mention that the SEC already get a prefernetial treatment because of their reputation. You had Alabama voted to the title game without winning thier division last year, and a two loss LSU team making it a few years back.

@Cardot LSU, Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee all have to play each other in various combinations the last time I checked. If the standard for poor conferences includes Texas AM, Mizzou, and Mississippi State then no one can hold a candle to the SEC. Think about it, the SEC could have ten bowl teams this year. That two-loss LSU team did pretty well in the championship game if I remember correctly as well.

At this point the snake is eating its own tail. The SEC is the best because it sends a team to the title game every year, and it sends a team to the title game every year because its the best. I think it's ridiculous that a team could be considered national champion when they played one legitimate out of conference team, lost its own division, got a do-over, and then won.

Well bama didn't just win. They destroyed LSU. The same LSU team that ran through a lot of other top conference teams.

It all comes down to ranking, If a SEC school is ranked #3 in the nation and has maybe a 1-loss record and wins the SEC championship and the #2 ranked team does not play a championship game or is a "cinderella" school, chances are that the SEC school will play the NC game becuase of it exposure then the "cinderella" team would. Until there is an official playoff, this is the scenario that the NCAA will face every year. #weneedaplayoffsystem!

It's obvioulsy the best conference. But is is top heavy with 3 or 4 teams. Based upon the last few years, I don't put Tennessee or Florida in the "Gauntlet" category. And who did Georgia beat?

of course they shouldnt be guarunteed a national title spot, they already have the ability to put two teams in it. that would basically kill the majority of the other hopeful teams chances, and thats not good for college football.

In short - No. The reason is the SEC is overrated. Are Bama and LSU elite? Yes. Auburn isn't there yet. Georgia is on the rise and South Carolina is solid. The rest of the conference is terrible. Florida isnt the Florida of the past.

I'm watching Bama roll all over Michigan;
Should the SEC be automatically included in the playoffs?
Nah, the SEC shouldnt get an automatic bid to the playoffs.... They should just play the winner.
Don't hate us because we're awesome!

Roll Tide!

Of course not. It is opinions, questions like this that are causing the SEC backlash. Of course the SEC is the best football conference, it's string of national titles speaks to that. However, anyone who has followed sports for 15+ years or more knows one thing. Nothing lasts forever. Nothing. To be honest, it really wasn't long ago when SEC nation wasn't full of over confidence and arrogance. They were whining that an SEC team would NEVER get the opportunity to play for a national title. Because their conference was so tough, no team could pass thru that gauntlet undefeated. And in the rare case one did (Auburn) it would get out voted by the East/West coast bias. Now, the pendulum has swung the other direction and we are talking about the SEC winner being guaranteed a spot to play for the national title. It's crazy talk man.

The SEC has EARNED the last six National Championships. That's no reason to GIVE them a berth in the NC game. Let them keep earning it.