With the division races heating up, college football finds its eyes locked on the SEC.

In Tuesday’s first College Football Playoff rankings, Tennessee found itself the number one team, Georgia number three, Alabama number six, and LSU number 10. These rankings set up games between number one vs three and six vs ten with significant playoff implications.

The winner of both games have an inside track to the SEC Championship game in Atlanta come December. The path is clear for Georgia and Tennessee, win the game and you basically win the SEC East and go to the Championship, however, it gets a little more tricky in the western division.

Alabama and LSU have already dropped a game to Tennessee, meaning they already have a conference loss. The winner here still has an inside track to the SEC Championship game, but,Ole Miss is right behind them with a conference loss to LSU.

If Alabama beats LSU this Saturday their toughest test lies just ahead when they travel to Oxford, Miss. to face Ole Miss. This means a second straight win and you are in a scenario. If Ole Miss wins this game after an LSU loss to Alabama they have the inside track to the SEC championship and if they win out they are in, just as Alabama.

Predictions

Tennessee 42 – 24 Georgia

Tennessee has scored large amounts of points on three ranked teams and has held down two of those teams defensively while Georgia has struggled against teams like Kent State, Missouri, and Florida. Though Georgia beat eighth-ranked Oregon 49-3, they have not fared very well against SEC teams.

For Georgia to win they would need to get out to fast start on offense scoring at least 30 in the first three quarters and they would need to hold Tennessee under 14 points for those three quarters. An important part of this for Georgia will be its tightened play, Georgia has brought in two five-star tight ends in the past two years and has maybe the best tight end in America with Brock Bowers. The all-around play including blocking and catching will have to be executed very well for the Georgia Bulldogs to have a chance.

Alabama 31 – 27 LSU

LSU has found its rhythm on offense and its defense has been able to hold teams to minimal points in the second half of games, thanks in large part to a stellar red-zone defense. However, LSU having a new coach and new quarterback this season gives Alabama the advantage. Alabama has a system that has been in place with Coach Saban, with a third-year returning quarterback in Bryce Young and maybe the best player in the country with linebacker Will Anderson, LSU will have their hands full Saturday night.

For LSU to upset Alabama, the Tigers would need to keep the Alabama offense on its toes from the start and not let them get going. This would give quarterback Jayden Daniels the time to run the offense, so he will not panic and force bad throws after falling behind. And most importantly to LSU fans, the crowd needs to be loud from start to finish and causes a couple of pre-snap penalties to make Alabama uneasy.

The Scenarios are as follows:

(SEC East)

Tennessee is in the SEC Championship if:

• Tennessee wins out

Or

• Tennessee loses to Georgia, Tennessee wins out, and Georgia loses to Kentucky and Mississippi State

Georgia is in the SEC Championship if:

• Georgia wins out

Or

• Georgia loses to Tennessee, Georgia wins out, and Tennessee loses two of their remaining three SEC games

(SEC West)

LSU is in the SEC Championship if:

• LSU wins out

Or

• LSU beats Alabama, LSU wins one of two remaining SEC games, and Ole Miss loses one of their remaining three SEC games

Or

• LSU loses to Alabama, wins their last two SEC games, Alabama loses their last two SEC games, and Ole Miss loses one of their last two SEC games

Alabama is in the SEC Championship if:

• Alabama wins out

Or

• Alabama loses to LSU, wins their final two SEC games, and LSU loses their two remaining SEC games

Ole Miss is in the SEC Championship game if:

• LSU loses to Alabama and Ole Miss wins out

Or

• LSU beats Alabama, LSU loses one of their remaining SEC games, and Ole Miss wins out