For the longest time the SEC has been given the benefit of the doubt and have a team in the championship game. As soon as they had to earn it in a playoff, they can't. Awesome day for college football.
It's so true. They were gifted a spot over another comparable team every single year they won during the "streak" starting in '06.
In '06 Florida was given a shot over an equally deserving Michigan team... with 1 loss Wisconsin, 1 loss Louisville, 2 loss LSU and 2 loss USC also shut out also.
In '07, 2 loss LSU jumped in from being SEVENTH the week before on account of major chaos and questionable voting. 2-loss Virginia Tech and Oklahoma had equally good claims. Virginia Tech was ahead of LSU heading into that final week and they both won their conference championships.
In '08, Florida was gifted in over a number of other 1-loss teams... including USC and Texas... in addition to undefeated Utah/Boise State (for the second straight year for Boise). Who knows if Florida wins a 4 team playoff with Oklahoma, Texas, and USC.
In '09, there were five undefeated teams... Texas and Alabama got the nod, with TCU, Cinci, and Boise being left out.
In '10, Auburn was undefeated and earned their way in... but TCU was also undefeated and there was 1 loss Stanford, Ohio State, and Wisconsin looming.
In '11, the SEC was gifted a championship by rematching Alabama and LSU. 1-loss Oklahoma State and Stanford were left on the outside looking in. Who knows if Andrew Luck could've beaten those defensive juggernauts who had piss pour offenses?
In '12, Notre Dame played Bama with 1-loss Oregon and Kansas State left out in favor of the tide. It probably would've gone down ND vs. Kansas State, Alabama vs. Oregon in the semis.
Then the nightmare ended in '13 with FSU triumphing over Auburn. Baylor and Michigan State were stuck on the outside looking in with 1-loss.
So in short... the only year that the SEC had an unequivocal claim to a spot in the final 2 was in 2010, every other year they got in over a comparable team. Even in 2010 they got in over undefeated TCU but TCU was still in a minor conference then. If the SEC had been treated with the same gloves as other conferences, they might've only had a representative in 2 of the BCS finals in that stretch. In particular, the PAC12 seems to have gotten the shaft very often in favor of an SEC team with comparable record/resume.