SEC College Football Playoff Bubble Watch After Week 9

This week, ESPN's Heather Dinich laid out the latest College Football Bubble Watch for the SEC after Week 9.

According to Dinich, if the playoffs were today, five teams from the SEC would be in: Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt.

Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas would all need help to get in.

Spotlight: Texas. Nothing about two-loss Texas looks good right now, including its latest injury report. The Longhorns still have everything in front of them, though, including games that could change the playoff picture entirely. Quarterback Arch Manning suffered a concussion in the overtime win at Mississippi State, so his status is uncertain heading into the Vanderbilt game. Texas has no margin for error, but if it can somehow run the table, its résumé would rank among the best in the country with wins against Vanderbilt, Georgia and Texas A&M. The loss to Florida will be a sticking point for the committee, though it would be comparable to Alabama's loss to Florida State and can be overcome by multiple wins against CFP Top 25 opponents. The Longhorns have so far sidestepped complete disaster with back-to-back overtime road wins against Kentucky and Mississippi State -- teams that are a combined 6-9. Despite the team's struggles, the Texas defense is No. 10 in the country, holding opponents to 14.63 points per game.

Enigma: Oklahoma. The Sooners have the second-most difficult schedule remaining in the country, which can either impress the committee enough for them to land a spot as a two-loss team if they win -- or knock out OU. If Oklahoma somehow wins back-to-back road games at Tennessee and Alabama, the Sooners would be catching the committee's attention at the right time. Oklahoma's biggest problem is its loss to rival Texas because if the Sooners were to run the table and finish 10-2, the selection committee's protocol includes head-to-head results as one of its tiebreakers. It's possible both teams could get in, but if the committee had to choose, it would be difficult not to select Texas because of the Oct. 11 win. According to the Allstate Playoff Predictor, if OU and Texas ran the table, the rivals would both have at least a 95% chance to reach the playoff.

If the playoff were today:

Would be in: Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt

On the cusp: None

Work to do: Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas

Would be out: LSU

Out: Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi State, South Carolina