We needed it or would've been a 3 loss team.
Or if you didn't make it to the SECCG you could've gotten in at 10-2 like Tennessee and wouldn't have lost Carson Beck.
Basically, you only risked being a 3 loss team because you had to play in it.
You could've gotten in as a 10-2 team without even playing in it.
Instead, you lost your starting QB, got a bye that is questionably too long (plus not playing in the SECCG you that week rest anyway).
IMO playing in the SECCG hurt your playoff aspirations more than helped it.