Just a week ago, the South Carolina Gamecocks got some fortuitous results to fall their way. But in the Week 14 College Football Playoff Rankings, it’s the Alabama Crimson Tide who are sitting pretty.
And this time, it’s the Gamecocks who are on the outs.
College Football Playoff Rankings Winners
The biggest winners once again are two-fold: the SEC and Alabama. And here’s why.
Miami lost to an unranked Syracuse team. There was no telling how far the committee will drop the Hurricanes, but odds pointed to them dropping past the mess of SEC teams with three losses. That’s not quite what happened, but Miami did fall past the Tide.
With that drop, it’s Alabama who is sitting now as the last team in the playoffs.
And the Tide have Syracuse to thank for defeating Miami.
Miami’s fall slides Alabama into No. 11 in the rankings and stands to give them the last at-large bid in the playoffs. It’s not a guarantee at this point, but right now, the SEC will place its fourth team in the playoffs.
Alabama’s inclusion at No. 11 joins them with Tennessee (No. 7), Georgia (No. 5), and Texas (No. 2), all three of whom are all but in the playoffs already.
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The fall of Miami didn’t quite go as far as we may have originally thought, and therefore, teams like Ole Miss and South Carolina are still on the outs, but the SEC placing its fourth team in the playoffs will tie the Big Ten Conference for most teams in the playoffs and most at-large bids.
If the season ended right now, the playoffs would be comprised of the following conferences:
- SEC: 4
- Big Ten: 4
- ACC: 1
- Big Ten: 1
- Independents: 1
- Mountain West: 1
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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