Could the SEC Be Left Out of the College Football Playoffs if Missouri Beats Alabama in the SEC Championship Game on Saturday?

The Southeastern Conference probably needs Alabama to beat Missouri on Saturday for a chance to have a school represented in the first ever College Football Playoff. Up until a few days ago, the question wasn't whether an SEC team would make the first ever College Football Playoff. The question was: How many?

What is widely regarded as the country's top football conference could be left out in the cold if the East Division Champion Missouri Tigers can pull off a major upset and defeat the West Division champion and overall No.1 Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday at the Georgia Dome.

The No. 16 Tigers don't have any wins against teams currently in the Top 25, and they have benefited from a mediocre strength schedule. This means, of course, that if they can beat Alabama, they probably won't have a good enough resume to jump into the four-team playoff. However, a loss would be enough for Alabama to drop out of the running all together, according to ESPN. 

Mississippi State was a favorite to claim a spot in the College Football Playoffs for most of the year, but the Rebels' 31-17 loss to Ole Miss last weekend knocked them out of contention.

That means Alabama has to win Saturday to assure the SEC a spot in the exclusive four-team playoff, which is entering its first year as the replacement to the much-maligned BCS system.

Alabama isn't the defensive power of yesteryear. According to AL.com, the 44 points the team allowed in last week's Iron Bowl win against Auburn were the most the school has ever allowed in a victory.

But the Crimson Tide is still 14.5 point favorites against Missouri, who is riding a six-game winning streak.

The Tigers are 10-2 overall, but both those losses stick out on the resume. The first came to lowly Indiana, 31-27, in September. Indiana went on to go winless in Big 10 play. Then the Tigers fell badly to Georgia, 34-0, in October. But Georgia's three losses — two in SEC play — allowed the Tigers to take the Eastern Division.

Missouri lost to Auburn in last year's SEC Championship game.