The expanded College Football Playoff format has led to plenty of conversation regarding the strength of certain conferences compared to others. Much of that talk has revolved around the SEC, who have three teams in the playoff.
After Indiana’s lackluster showing in the first round against Notre Dame, fans of SEC teams, most notably Alabama, argued that they should have been included in the CFP. The argument about the SEC’s dominance suffered a significant blow on Saturday night however, when Tennessee was smacked by Ohio State.
During the game, fans at Ohio Stadium could be overheard rubbing salt in the wound of Volunteers fans and the rest of the SEC, loudly chanting “S-E-C” at various points throughout the game. Those chants were loud enough to be overheard on the ESPN broadcast.
“SEC SEC SEC SEC SEC” chants rain from Ohio State’s student section with the Buckeyes in firm control #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/Wn203i3XWr
— THE Bunch of Nuts Podcast (@bunch_nuts) December 22, 2024
Ohio State fans chanting “SEC! SEC!” pic.twitter.com/O6EcH1oBaa
— Scott Dochterman (@ScottDochterman) December 22, 2024
The Buckeyes jumped out to an early 21–0 lead and they didn’t look back from there. Fans at “The Shoe” were loving every minute of it. Despite a contingent of nearly 40,000 Tennessee fans making the trip out to Ohio Stadium, their presence wasn’t enough to spur the Vols on, and they found themselves on the receiving end of the SEC chants.
The Big Ten ultimately reigned supreme on Saturday night, as both Ohio State and Penn State secured their place in the second round of the CFP. Meanwhile, Texas and Georgia are the last standing SEC teams, and they’ll both be back in action on Jan. 1, 2025.
