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SEC tiebreakers: Championship Game clinching scenarios in Week 14

SEC tiebreakers: Championship Game clinching scenarios in Week 14

Rivalry Week provides some of the biggest moments each college football season.

This year is no different, especially with everything that is at stake.

As the final week of the 2025 college football regular season begins, four teams in the SEC can still punch a ticket to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game. Only two teams — Texas A&M and Alabama — control their own destiny, while both Ole Miss and Georgia can get into the SEC Championship game with some help.

Let’s look at the standings, as well as the clinching scenarios for each team.

What are the SEC standings?

Here are the SEC standings. The four teams still alive in a race for a SEC Championship Game berth are in bold.

Team SEC Record Overall Record
Texas A&M 7-0 11-0
Georgia 7-1 11-1
Ole Miss 7-1 11-1
Alabama 6-1 9-2
Texas 5-2 8-3
Oklahoma 5-2 9-2
Vanderbilt 5-2 9-2
Tennessee 4-3 8-3
LSU 3-4 7-4
Missouri 3-4 7-4
Kentucky 2-6 5-6
Florida 2-6 3-8
Auburn 1-6 5-6
Mississippi State 1-7 5-7
South Carolina 1-7 4-7
Arkansas 0-7 2-9

Week 14 Matchup: @ Texas, Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET

Week 14 result: Texas A&M lost 27-17 to Texas. With Ole Miss also winning, that means Texas A&M cannot claim a berth in the SEC Championship Game. Their loss means Georgia has clinched one of the two berths in the title game. The other will go to either Alabama or Ole Miss. Texas A&M should still claim a spot in the College Football Playoff.

-Win
Or Alabama loss and Ole Miss loss

UPDATE, Friday 3:15 p.m. ET: Ole Miss won the Egg Bowl on Friday, beating Mississippi State 38-19. This means Texas A&M has to win at Texas to secure a spot in the SEC Championship Game. If the Aggies lose, either Alabama gets in with a win, or Ole Miss gets in with an Alabama loss.

The Aggies are one of two teams that control their own destiny, and a win over Texas clinches a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game.

But a loss to the Longhorns makes the road to Atlanta a little tougher. If the Aggies lose on Friday night, they will need both an Alabama loss to Auburn, and an Ole Miss loss to Mississippi State, to clinch a spot in the SEC Championship Game against Georgia.

Week 14 Matchup: @ Auburn, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET

If the Crimson Tide advance to the SEC Championship Game, they might have Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia to thank.

Vanderbilt’s win over Kentucky last week clinched the “best opponent winning percentage” tiebreaker for Alabama. That means as long as the Crimson Tide take care of business against Auburn, they are in the SEC Championship Game.

But a loss to the Tigers and not only is Alabama out of the SEC title game, they are likely out of the College Football Playoff.

Week 14 Matchup: @ Georgia Tech, Friday, 3:30 p.m. ET

Week 14 result: Georgia beat Georgia Tech 16-9. The game had no bearing on their chances at clinching a spot in the SEC Championship Game, but it is relevant to their CFP hopes. They likely would still have a good shot at the CFP even with a loss to the Yellow Jackets, but the win all but locks up a bid even if they don’t get into their conference title game.

-Alabama loss or Texas A&M loss

Friday night update: Texas A&M lost to Texas, which means Georgia has clinched a spot in the SEC title game. If Alabama beats Auburn on Saturday, Georgia will face the Crimson Tide. If Auburn upsets Alabama, the Bulldogs will face Ole Miss.

Things are a little interesting when it comes to the Bulldogs.

Georgia plays Georgia Tech in their annual rivalry game, and the Bulldogs have already finished their conference schedule. This means their own game has no bearing on whether or not Georgia will advance to the SEC Championship Game, but they do need some help to book a spot in Atlanta. Georgia needs either Alabama to lose to Auburn, or Texas A&M to lose to Texas, to clinch a spot in the SEC Championship Game.

Week 14 Matchup: @ Mississippi State, Friday, 12:00 p.m. ET

Week 14 result update: Ole Miss won the Egg Bowl 38-19 to do their part in getting to the SEC Championship Game. They now need considerable help Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. They’ll be rooting for Texas to upset Texas A&M on Friday and Auburn to upset Alabama in the Iron Bowl on Saturday.

Win
And Alabama loss and Texas A&M loss

Friday night update: Texas A&M lost to Texas, which means Ole Miss still has a chance at the SEC title game. They need Alabama to lose the Iron Bowl to Auburn on Saturday for that to happen.

If Lane Kiffin and company want to advance to the SEC Championship Game for the first time in school history, they first need to knock off Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl on Friday afternoon.

Then they need to watch the scoreboard.

A win over Mississippi State alone will not be enough. Ole Miss also needs Auburn to beat Alabama and Texas A&M to lose to Texas. In that scenario, Alabama would drop to 6-2 in conference play, knocking them out of contention. Georgia, Texas A&M, and Ole Miss would be tied with 7-1 conference records. Georgia and Ole Miss have stronger cumulative conference winning percentages than the Aggies, and those two teams would head to Atlanta.

Of course, this is all happening as Kiffin’s future in Oxford remains in doubt.

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In episode three of this series, I began a two-part exploration of the encounter between Toronto’s George Bell and Boston’s Bruce Kison on June 23rd, 1985. Having visited Kison side of things, we will now consider the life and times of George Bell.

In the late 1970s scouts all around major league baseball began descending upon the Dominican Republic, which had suddenly been identified as highly lucrative territory. The DR was home to countless talented young ball players and those ball players due to the country’s dire economic conditions were highly exploitable.

With the unemployment rate around 40% teams realized they could sign players for a lot less than American prospects asked for. And if those Dominican players did happen to get signed by a major league team, they were sent to the states socially isolated by the language barrier and dependent upon agents who were often crooked and looking to swindle ‘em all over again.

A cruel irony recalled by George Bell, one of those young Dominican players, was that while navigating this labyrinth of shameless exploitation, he was the one looked at with suspicion. American players found any reason they could to dislike him. His English wasn’t polished enough, he was too this, not enough that, didn’t play the game the right way.

In 1982, while playing for minor league Syracuse, Bell stepped in against Lynn McGlothen, an 11 year Major League vet pitching in AAA ball in the hopes of one last call up. In a game years earlier while pitching for the Cardinals, McGlothen beamed one New York Mets batter then brushed back another three innings later, then hit that batter too. The intent was so transparently clear that the Mets Dave Kingman charged the mound straight from the dugout.

McGlothen did not hesitate to throw at a batter if he had the inclination and he seemed to resent George Bell for the same superficial reasons everybody else did. Bell was a hotdogger. It was decided. McGlothen drilled him in the face, fracturing his cheek and jawbones. While his teammates stormed the field to exact revenge, Bell arrived on the ground certain that his career in baseball, his one chance at a better life was over.

“He’s dead,” Bell thought of McGlothen, not because Bell would kill him or because his teammates would, but because fate would one day catch up with him.

Two years later, McGlothen lost his life in a fire. His friend was also killed with everyone else escaping the home. Bell who’d fully recovered and made his way to the majors, addressed the tragedy sometime after seemingly unprompted. He expressed his sympathies for the friends and loved ones of those who died then said in McGlothen’s fate, “People like that decide it. They have a bad heart. No way they can stay alive.”

You might find those words to be callous, even cruel. I mean I do. Then again, I doubt either of us have persevered through the circumstances Bell did only for somebody to break his face and potentially ruin his life just for playing baseball with a little bit too much swagger.

Baseball was George Bell’s one and only chance at a better life, the sort of life we’d wish for anybody, and he was fiercely, sometimes even violently protective of that chance.

#HISTORY #CHARGING #MOUND #EPISODE #GEORGE #BELL">THE HISTORY OF CHARGING THE MOUND, EPISODE 4: GEORGE BELL  In episode three of this series, I began a two-part exploration of the encounter between Toronto’s George Bell and Boston’s Bruce Kison on June 23rd, 1985. Having visited Kison side of things, we will now consider the life and times of George Bell.In the late 1970s scouts all around major league baseball began descending upon the Dominican Republic, which had suddenly been identified as highly lucrative territory. The DR was home to countless talented young ball players and those ball players due to the country’s dire economic conditions were highly exploitable.With the unemployment rate around 40% teams realized they could sign players for a lot less than American prospects asked for. And if those Dominican players did happen to get signed by a major league team, they were sent to the states socially isolated by the language barrier and dependent upon agents who were often crooked and looking to swindle ‘em all over again.A cruel irony recalled by George Bell, one of those young Dominican players, was that while navigating this labyrinth of shameless exploitation, he was the one looked at with suspicion. American players found any reason they could to dislike him. His English wasn’t polished enough, he was too this, not enough that, didn’t play the game the right way.In 1982, while playing for minor league Syracuse, Bell stepped in against Lynn McGlothen, an 11 year Major League vet pitching in AAA ball in the hopes of one last call up. In a game years earlier while pitching for the Cardinals, McGlothen beamed one New York Mets batter then brushed back another three innings later, then hit that batter too. The intent was so transparently clear that the Mets Dave Kingman charged the mound straight from the dugout.McGlothen did not hesitate to throw at a batter if he had the inclination and he seemed to resent George Bell for the same superficial reasons everybody else did. Bell was a hotdogger. It was decided. McGlothen drilled him in the face, fracturing his cheek and jawbones. While his teammates stormed the field to exact revenge, Bell arrived on the ground certain that his career in baseball, his one chance at a better life was over.“He’s dead,” Bell thought of McGlothen, not because Bell would kill him or because his teammates would, but because fate would one day catch up with him.Two years later, McGlothen lost his life in a fire. His friend was also killed with everyone else escaping the home. Bell who’d fully recovered and made his way to the majors, addressed the tragedy sometime after seemingly unprompted. He expressed his sympathies for the friends and loved ones of those who died then said in McGlothen’s fate, “People like that decide it. They have a bad heart. No way they can stay alive.”You might find those words to be callous, even cruel. I mean I do. Then again, I doubt either of us have persevered through the circumstances Bell did only for somebody to break his face and potentially ruin his life just for playing baseball with a little bit too much swagger.Baseball was George Bell’s one and only chance at a better life, the sort of life we’d wish for anybody, and he was fiercely, sometimes even violently protective of that chance.  #HISTORY #CHARGING #MOUND #EPISODE #GEORGE #BELL

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