Rock the vote

In case of tie, SEC looking at perhaps using BCS standings instead

ATLANTA (AP) -- Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive is looking for a new way to break a tie for a division football title.

If Georgia, Florida and Tennessee all win their remaining three SEC games, they will finish with records of 6-2 to tie for the SEC East Division lead. None of the league's six methods of breaking a tie would resolve the issue.

According to the conference rule book, that would call for a vote by the eight athletic directors who are not involved in the tie or have a team in the championship game.

"I will have discussions with our athletics directors soon and will recommend that we eliminate the subjective element of the tiebreaker and replace it with objective criteria," Slive said Thursday.

Slive would not be specific about the SEC's plan, but indications are that it would be linked to the Bowl Championship Series standings, which are used to determine which two teams meet in a bowl game for the national championship.

But the BCS likely will not be the only factor in the mix. The Gainesville Sun reported Thursday that it is expected that the SEC ADs will recommend that if two teams are close -- for example, 10th and 11th in the BCS -- that head-to-head would then be the deciding criteria.

"I think we all realize that the more subjective the process is, the worse things are for everybody," Georgia athletic director Vince Dooley said. "I think it would be proper to come up with something more definitive."

In the case of identical records, the SEC's current system gives the edge to the team with the best record against the others involved in the tie. In the case of Georgia, Florida and Tennessee, each split its games with the other two.

The five other tie-breaking procedures also still leave the teams tied.