SEC standings, explained: Updated 2024 tiebreakers for Georgia, Tennessee and more

The scramble for the SEC championship is the most compelling race in college football in 2024. 

The conference now has six schools with two losses or less in conference play. Florida beat No. 22 LSU 27-16 to give the Tigers a third loss in SEC play. No. 21 South Carolina beat No. 23 Missouri 34-30 to give those Tigers a third loss. 

Then, No. 12 Georgia beat No. 7 Tennessee 31-17 in the marquee matchup of Week 12. The next key game in the race will be on Nov. 30 between No. 3 Texas and No. 15 Texas A&M, but there are a lot of scenarios that could pop up in the next two weeks. 

The SEC should get four teams in the College Football Playoff – maybe even five – but the struggle is to determine who the two teams that make the SEC championship game in Atlanta on Dec. 7. 

Here is a look at where those contenders are in the standings, their respective paths to the SEC championship and the tiebreaker rules should two teams – or three or more teams - tie in the conference standings at the end of the regular season.

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SEC football standings 2024

The SEC has six teams with two losses or less in conference play. Here is a look at those teams. South Carolina also is ranked in the AP Top 25 and CFP rankings, but the Gamecocks have three losses in conference play.                                                    

SEC tiebreaker rules for 2024 season 

The SEC will use six potential tie-breakers for the 2024 season in this order until the tie is broken: 

Step 1: Head-to-head competition: This is the easiest tie-beaker. Did Team A beat Team B? 

Step 2: Record vs. all common conference opponents.

Step 3: Record against highest (best) placed common conference opponent in the conference standings, and proceeding through the conference standings among tied teams. 

Step 4: Cumulative conference winning percentages of all conference opponents among tied teams. 

Step 5: Capped relative total scoring margin vs. all conference opponents among the tied teams. 

Step 6: Random draw.

SEC contenders path to the championship game 

Texas (9-1, 5-1) 

Remaining schedule: vs. Kentucky, at Texas A&M 

The Longhorns still control their destiny after a 20-10 victory at Arkansas. The tricky loss for them is Georgia. Alabama and Ole Miss have head-to-head victories against the Bulldogs as a common opponent, and that tie-breaker could hurt the Longhorns if they slip up in one of these last two games. Texas, however, will be favored against the Wildcats and Aggies. It has the best path to the SEC championship game. 

Texas A&M (8-2, 5-1) 

Remaining schedule: at Auburn, vs. Texas 

The Aggies are the only teams among the six contenders with a non-conference loss, which came in Week 1 against Notre Dame. Texas A&M beat New Mexico State 38-3 in Week 12, and they still control their own destiny in the SEC championship race. Another loss would likely drop Texas A&M out of both the SEC title game and the College Football Playoff. 

Georgia (8-2, 6-2) 

Remaining schedule: vs. UMass, vs. Georgia Tech 

The Bulldogs kept their playoff hopes alive and closed out conference play with a 31-17 victory against Tennessee. Georgia has head-to-head victories against Texas and Tennessee and losses to Alabama and Ole Miss, not to mention a decisive non-conference victory against Clemson. Even if the Bulldogs do not get to the SEC championship game, their playoff case is strong. 

Tennessee (8-2, 5-2) 

Remaining schedule: vs. UTEP, at Vanderbilt 

The Vols will likely be the odd team out among the SEC contenders when it comes to the next College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday after the loss to Georgia. Tennessee still has the head-to-head victory against Alabama, and that debate could intensify over the next two weeks, especially if the Vols can beat Vanderbilt in the season finale. 

Alabama (8-2, 4-2) 

Remaining schedule: at Oklahoma, vs. Auburn 

The Crimson Tide beat Mercer 52-7 and are in good shape despite conference losses to Vanderbilt and Tennessee. That's because Alabama has head-to-head victories against Georgia and LSU, which will be huge if there is a pileup of two-loss teams. In most of those situations, Alabama will have the advantage. It's amazing how Kalen DeBoer's first season has fluctuated in Tuscaloosa.

Ole Miss (8-2, 4-2) 

Remaining schedule: at Florida, vs. Mississippi State 

The Rebels are in a good spot for the College Football Playoff, but three-point losses to Kentucky and LSU make their path to the SEC championship game far more difficult. The 28-10 victory against Georgia offset the 29-26 loss to LSU, but that likely will not be enough unless Alabama loses again. 

SEC common opponents tracker for 2024

Here is a look at the common opponents for the six teams in contention. Keep this chart handy for the final two weeks of the season: 

Most likely SEC championship game scenario 

Here is what we think will happen over the next few weeks. 

- Texas will beat Texas A&M on Nov. 30. The Longhorns win out and claim one of the spots in the SEC championship game as a result. 

- If the chalk plays out from there, there will be five teams with 6-2 records in conference play trying to get the spot opposite Texas in Atlanta. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head records among those teams. At that point, it would be Ole Miss (1-0), Alabama (1-1), Tennessee (1-1), Georgia (1-2) and Texas A&M (0-0). Because there is no round robin or common opponent for all five teams, the deciding tiebreaker would be cumulative conference winning percentage of all conference opponents for all five teams. 

Right now, those percentages favor Alabama (27-26, .509). Georgia (23-28, .451) is next, followed by Texas A&M (23-29, .442), Ole Miss (22-33, .400) and Tennessee (21-32, .396).

So the most likely SEC championship game scenario right now features Texas with a 7-1 SEC record and Alabama at 6-2 and winning the five-way tiebreaker for second place. 

Here is how that scenario would look among the remaining games: