Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) takes off on a fourth-down play, with seconds left on the clock, to score a 36-yard touchdown during his game against South Carolina in Columbia, S.C., on Nov. 1, 2014.Could Tennessee sophomore quarterback Josh Dobbs decide who, if anyone, represents the Southeastern Conference in the College Football Playoff?
Bear with me. I have a dream, though it could be a nightmare for the Southeastern Conference.
What if five SEC West schools -- Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State and Ole Miss -- all finish tied for the West Division title with 6-2 league marks?
No way, you say? Way. Here's how: Alabama loses at LSU this weekend to suffer its second conference loss. Then Bama wins out against Mississippi State and Auburn.
LSU, which already has two league defeats, also wins out at Arkansas and Texas A&M.
As for Ole Miss, which also already has two SEC losses, the Rebel-Black Flies-In-The-Ointment knock off Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl to leave both Magnolia State schools with two league defeats.
Then there's Auburn, which defeats Georgia but falls to the Crimson Tide in the Iron Bowl.
Count 'em up. That's five teams, each of which stands 2-2 against the other four.
So who goes to the title game? As unbelievable as it sounds, the team whose SEC East foes have the combined best record.
Huh?
In previous years, the league allowed Bowl Championship Series points to break such ties rather than flipping a coin, confiding in a Ouija board, howling at the moon or channeling the wisdom of former SEC commissioner Boyd McWhorter.
But with no more BCS, it has turned to a far more complicated formula, which is where young Dobbs comes into play.
Because Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State and Ole Miss would all be 2-2 against the other four and undefeated against the rest of the league, their spot in the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 6 inside the Georgia Dome could come down to a new tiebreaker the league introduced last summer.
Outlined in SEC literature as the seventh tiebreaker option, or "G," the league will turn to the "combined SEC record of the team's cross-divisional opponents."
In other words, Alabama suddenly needs Tennessee and Florida to win out, just as Ole Miss needs UT and Vanderbilt to succeed, and Auburn needs Georgia and South Carolina to win, and Mississippi State needs Kentucky and Vanderbilt to triumph, and LSU needs Kentucky and Florida to prevail.
The rest of us probably just need someone from the league office to explain why it approved a tiebreaker that no one this side of the Ivy League can probably figure out.
Wouldn't this have been a lot simpler over a couple of games of "Corn Hole" during some televised tailgate party prior to the Iron Bowl or Egg Bowl? Just pick a Corn Hole champ from each of the five schools, then host a tournament in the parking lot outside Bama's Bryant-Denny Stadium or Mississippi's Vaught-Hemingway Stadium prior to one of those two Thanksgiving weekend games. Comedian Jeff Foxworthy could emcee, Publix (but no crab legs), Piggly Wiggly and Dreamland could cater, and the winner's favorite school would head to the Georgia Dome if all five finish tied in the standings.
It'd be better than day-after-Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches on oatmeal bread with mayo and black pepper.
So who could emerge as the West's best under such a format? As of today, it's Auburn, since South Carolina and Georgia are a combined 6-7 in league play. After that would come LSU (Florida and Kentucky are 5-7), Alabama (Florida and UT are 4-7), Miss. State (UK and Vandy are 2-9) and Ole Miss (UT and Vandy are 1-9).
But this is also where it gets really interesting. Assuming Dobbs can lead the Vols to sweep their final three opponents (UK, Mizzou and Vandy) after this week's off week -- and Florida can win at Vanderbilt this week and against South Carolina next week -- Bama's East foes would finish 9-7.
A five-way SEC West tie would also mean Auburn would beat Georgia but lose to Bama. Assuming UGA beats UK this weekend and South Carolina loses at Florida, that would leave Auburn's East foes with a 7-9 record. Then there's LSU, the Tigers likewise falling short of Bama if UT wins out, since that would leave UK and Florida no better than a combined 7-9.
But just for fun, let's go one step further. Let's say Kentucky defeats UT to leave the Vols 2-1 in their final three games instead of 3-0. That would leave Bama and LSU tied, though perhaps the league would revert to head-to-head at that point and LSU would win the West. Or maybe they'll just flip a coin.
And you thought Einstein's Theory of Relativity was complicated.
Did we also mention that there could still be a three-way tie in the SEC East between Georgia, Florida and Missouri, with each team 1-1 against the other two?
So there's the dream/nightmare: Bama rooting for Tennessee and UT knowing that winning out could deliver the Crimson Tide another national championship.
It's all enough to make that old BCS formula look better every day.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.