Just a week ago, the South Carolina Gamecocks got some fortuitous results to fall their way. And in Week 14, once again, the Gamecocks are sitting pretty.
This time, however, they did some of the dirty work themselves.
College Football Playoff Rankings Winners
The biggest winners once again are two-fold: South Carolina and Alabama. And here’s why.
Miami lost to an unranked Syracuse team. There is no telling how far the committee will drop the Hurricanes, but odds are they put them past the mess of SEC teams with three losses.
That not only helps South Carolina and Alabama, it gives a glimmer of hope for the Ole Miss Rebels as well. Ole Miss, however, would have needed their SEC conference mates to lose this weekend in order for their dreams to really come to reality.
Instead, South Carolina and Alabama have Syracuse to thank for defeating Miami.
Most likely, Miami drops somewhere between 13-15. This pushes Alabama and South Carolina up. Because of their defeat of the No. 12 ranked Clemson Tigers, South Carolina could be the team who jumps the most, but that’s not a given.
Likely, Alabama and South Carolina jump up a spot or two and are in prime contention for the last at-large spot.
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Who has the advantage in the head-to-head battle between South Carolina and Alabama, however, is up for debate. Yes, Alabama defeated South Carolina in their head-to-head matchup, but SC has some pretty impressive wins compared to Alabama’s pretty ugly losses.
Only the committee can tell us what they think of each team’s resume as we get to Tuesday, but one thing is for sure, South Carolina and Alabama are in this discussion, and that makes them massive winners from Week 14.
College Football Playoff Rankings Losers
To put it simply, the ACC is the biggest loser of Week 14. Yes, SMU handled their business and will play for the ACC Championship.
But Clemson and Miami lost, clouding the prestige of the team’s perennial favorite and their upstart Hurricanes that had the nation buzzing just a few weeks ago.
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With Miami’s loss, it all but guarantees the fact that the ACC likely will only place one team in the playoffs. For a conference that is vying to recruit, compete, and get rev-share like the other Power Four conferences, placing only one team in the 12-team format is a massive blow.
And that’s why the ACC is certainly the biggest loser from Week 14.
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