By: Colin Lacy

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Just a month ago we were talking about if it should be four or five teams from the Southeastern Conference in the first edition of the 12-team College Football Playoff.

This was also when the SEC was flocking to Atlanta for the SEC Championship game that has turned into a celebration of SEC Football in the heart of the peach state at Mercedez Benz Stadium.

Now the college football world returns to the Benz, but one thing is missing…the SEC.

Monday night will be the culmination of the 2024 college football season with the College Football Playoff National Championship Game between Ohio State and Notre Dame.

While the SEC did makeup a quarter of the inaugural twelve team field with Georgia (#2 seed), Texas (#5 seed), and Tennessee (#9 seed), the premier conference in college football combined for 2 wins in the bracket (both coming from Texas).

So, what have the two teams that will battle for the top spot in college football done to overpower the SEC?

Now most may say that that is an outlandish statement, but when you look at the bracket, Notre Dame and Ohio State combined to eliminate every SEC team in this field.

There is something about both of these two teams that stands out that was a glaring issue in the Southeastern Conference all season long. High-level quarterback play.

Both the Buckeyes and Irish have used the transfer portal in a big way, but especially at the signal-caller position.

After Sam Hartman made his way as an un-drafted free agent with the Commanders, Notre Dame went out and got a graduate transfer that had burst on the scene the last few years while piloting the Duke Blue Devils in Riley Leonard.

The Fairhope, Alabama native had last season cut short because of injury with the Blue Devils (coincidentally he was injured against Notre Dame) and has grown into Irish OC Mike Denbrock’s offense as the season has gone.

The Irish began the year with an impressive 23-13 victory in College Station against Texas A&M (again as coincidence would have it, against Leonard’s former Blue Devil Head Coach Mike Elko).

The following week would prove to be the low point in the season by falling to Northern Illinois 16-14. Since then, Leonard and the Irish have rattled off 13 straight wins including CFP wins over Georgia and Penn State. Leonard has thrown for over 2,600 yards and 19 passing touchdowns and adding 16 more scores on the ground.

On the flipside of the card, Ohio State has been steady (aside from the rivalry loss to Michigan at the end of November) with a 13-2 record this year behind another graduate transfer quarterback.

Much like Notre Dame, the Buckeyes have found success with Will Howard after transferring from Kansas State. Howard isn’t as mobile as Leonard but has dazzled the Big 10 Conference to the tune of just shy of 3,800 yards through the air and 33 touchdowns to only 10 interceptions.

Through the season names of Cam Ward, Jaxson Dart, and Carson Beck have dominated the “best quarterback in college football” conversation, but you’d be hard pressed to find a quarterback that has played better than either one of these field generals in Leonard and Howard, and I truly believe that is the reason the SEC isn’t represented in the biggest game on the college football schedule (and many are disappointed in the SEC showing in the CFP).

Quarterback play hasn’t been at the level that is has in the past. Many thought that Carson Beck for the Georgia Bulldogs was going to be a first-round pick entering the season.

As the weeks would play out, he would be good at times and show flashes, but never took the game to the next level which culminates in his transfer to Miami after he had declared for the NFL draft for a week.

Don’t get me wrong, there were good quarterbacks in the league. Jaxson Dart with Ole Miss had a good season in Oxford, Brady Cook at Missouri may have proven to be one of the most important players in the SEC to their team in the Mizzou performances when he was injured, and Nico Iamaleava (Tennessee) Jalen Milroe (Alabama) and Quinn Ewers (Texas) were all good, but nobody had the breakout season that “wow’ d” everyone.

Strangely the most impressive quarterback performance of the season may have come from Gainesville and DJ Lagway coming in as a true freshman, and after an injury to incumbent starter Graham Mertz, Lagway took the reins.

Granted there were some growing pains with Lagway, but by the end of the season, may have been the most impressive quarterback in the SEC.

All of that said, as strange as it feels to not have a SEC team playing for a championship on Monday IN ATLANTA, the finale of the CFP will showcase two pretty impressive offensive commanders for the Irish and Buckeyes.