I'm sick to my stomach. Feel like I'm preparing to watch the 2nd half of the '84 Navy game tonight at 7:00.

[Rhode Island Dork]

For those that don't remember or weren't born yet, Navy led 14-7 at halftime. We still had plenty of opportunity to right the ship (no pun intended) & whip 'em the 2nd half. Instead, Navy scored TDs on its first 3 possessions of the 2nd half & that was all she wrote for our national title hopes. I'm afraid this is what watching tonight's CFP rankings show will be like tonight when those jackasses have the Cocks at 13 or 12.

 

[Rhode Island Dork]

Oh, &..............

 

[BftCocks09]

You already know what’s going to happen. Not saying it’s right, but it’s just our luck as Gamecock fans. Everyone that doesn’t have a dog in the fight knows we are one of the best 12 teams and should be in. Period. However, the people that matter the most, the selection committee will do what’s lazy and just revert to head-to-head and keep us out.

 

[92Pony]

I'm fully prepared for us to be left out. This has been a great season! What I'm *not* prepared-for or okay with is clem probably beating SMU and back-dooring their way in after we beat them. Automatic bids are the single, worst thing about the CFP!

 

[18IsTheMan]

Yes, I believe there is quite a large disconnect between what people know should happen and what people know will happen. No matter where you look on social media or elsewhere, the overwhelming public opinion is that we deserve the 12th spot. However, we all know it’s not going to be us.

 

[BftCocks09]

I'm fully prepared for us to be left out. This has been a great season! What I'm *not* prepared-for or okay with is clem probably beating SMU and back-dooring their way in after we beat them. Automatic bids are the single, worst thing about the CFP!

It is pretty ridiculous isn’t it? All this hoopla will be made about head-to-head between us and Alabama but not a word will be spoken about head-to-head with Clemson. Especially with Clemson potentially even getting a bye? How can you look at one and throw out the other? It makes the auto bid look completely stupid.

 

[Rhode Island Dork]

Yes, I believe there is quite a large disconnect between what people know should happen and what people know will happen. No matter where you look on social media or elsewhere, the overwhelming public opinion is that we deserve the 12th spot. However, we all know it’s not going to be us.

We're actually one of the 6 best teams & should be hosting round 1 if it's based on who's actually the best.

 

[Swifty]

There's a chance that climpson could squeak by SMU and Arizona State/Iowa State could potentially get the fourth bye if the winner blows doors. That could set up Bama/climpson as the 5/12.

 

[USCEE82]

You already know what’s going to happen. Not saying it’s right, but it’s just our luck as Gamecock fans. Everyone that doesn’t have a dog in the fight knows we are one of the best 12 teams and should be in. Period. However, the people that matter the most, the selection committee will do what’s lazy and just revert to head-to-head and keep us out.

But as somebody said on a different thread, it's not intended to be the 12 best teams.

 

[BftCocks09]

But as somebody said on a different thread, it's not intended to be the 12 best teams.

Has someone affiliated with the playoff committee officially said that?

 

[The Reel Ess]

For some reason I'm not bothered by it either way.

 

[92Pony]

But as somebody said on a different thread, it's not intended to be the 12 best teams.

Right. It can't be with the participation-trophy-automatic-bid set-up.

 

[Piscis]

Let's be honest with ourselves. Which win is our "signature win" for the season? Clemson? They haven't beaten a decent team all season. UK? They have proven to be a disaster. Oklahoma? A 6-6 team whose only notable win was against Bama. A&M? A 4 loss team that started the season grossly overrated, as always. Missouri? Without a doubt the most overrated of all SEC teams this season, there staying in the top 25 was a pure gift to keep another SEC team in the rankings. We actually have a couple "signature losses" that look better than our wins.

9-3 is a great season considering how we thought things were going to go but thinking we are one of the best 12 teams in the country is a stretch to me.

 

[18IsTheMan]

Has someone affiliated with the playoff committee officially said that?

By virtue of a G5 team getting in, it's not the 12 best teams.

 

[18IsTheMan]

For some reason I'm not bothered by it either way.

Despite all my arguing about it, I'm really not either. Other than I think the committee needs to signal that with the end of the Saban era, that this brand of Alabama football has to earn their own way. They absolutely gifted Alabama a spot in the CFP last year. Bama jumped from 8th to 4th after their SECCG win, bumping undefeated FSU from the 4 spot even though they had also won their conference championship game.

The preferential treatment had never really bothered me in the past, because, frankly, I thought Saban had earned it. But this team is very obviously not coached by Nick Saban and bears little resemblance to those teams.

I think the committee should signal to Alabama: "you're not getting by on your name alone any longer".

 

[mickray]

The top 4 are deserving. The other 8 are just for the $.

 

[golffan]

I'm fully prepared for us to be left out. This has been a great season! What I'm *not* prepared-for or okay with is clem probably beating SMU and back-dooring their way in after we beat them. Automatic bids are the single, worst thing about the CFP!

The part that doesnt make sense is the committee said conference champ games do not matter much but yet they give them automatic byes for the first round. Contradiction.

 

[USCEE82]

By virtue of a G5 team getting in, it's not the 12 best teams.

Yes. The highest ranked G5 conference champion gets an automatic bid.

Copy/paste from si.com:
In the new format, the selection committee will automatically give every Power Four conference champion a place in the top-four, followed by the highest-ranked Group of Five champion, with the other seven bids awarded to the remaining best at-large teams in the nation.

 

[golffan]

Cancel the conference champ games. The committee says they put little value in them. Yet the winners get auto byes in the playoff. Also, do away with the bowl ties. Now if georgia loses, you could put the against the gamecocks in a bowl game and sellout. These former rivalry games are not played anymore so it will make the bowls more appealing. No one is excited to see illinois and carolina!

 

[kidrobinski]

Let's be honest with ourselves. Which win is our "signature win" for the season? Clemson? They haven't beaten a decent team all season. UK? They have proven to be a disaster. Oklahoma? A 6-6 team whose only notable win was against Bama. A&M? A 4 loss team that started the season grossly overrated, as always. Missouri? Without a doubt the most overrated of all SEC teams this season, there staying in the top 25 was a pure gift to keep another SEC team in the rankings. We actually have a couple "signature losses" that look better than our wins.

9-3 is a great season considering how we thought things were going to go but thinking we are one of the best 12 teams in the country is a stretch to me.

Nonsense; we are unquestionably one of the twelve best, particularly over the second half of the season, and everyone (except you I guess) knows it.

America’s team. Do they please the people who wanted the playoff in the first place, or do they please the modern day plantation owners.

 

[Vegas13]

Let's be honest with ourselves. Which win is our "signature win" for the season? Clemson? They haven't beaten a decent team all season. UK? They have proven to be a disaster. Oklahoma? A 6-6 team whose only notable win was against Bama. A&M? A 4 loss team that started the season grossly overrated, as always. Missouri? Without a doubt the most overrated of all SEC teams this season, there staying in the top 25 was a pure gift to keep another SEC team in the rankings. We actually have a couple "signature losses" that look better than our wins.

9-3 is a great season considering how we thought things were going to go but thinking we are one of the best 12 teams in the country is a stretch to me.

Bama's is Georgia. I wish we played Georgia. We'd beat them.

 

[The Reel Ess]

And this is why I didn't get hopes up. You all know you expected this.

 

[Piscis]

Nonsense; we are unquestionably one of the twelve best, particularly over the second half of the season, and everyone (except you I guess) knows it.

America’s team. Do they please the people who wanted the playoff in the first place, or do they please the modern day plantation owners.

Apparently not. Our schedule that looked so formidable before the season turned out to be pretty tame. Other than beating an overrated Clemson team that backed into the ACC championship game, what is our big win that signals our being one of the twelve best? We are one of four teams in the SEC with a 9-3 record and we are third out of those four and sixth in the conference standings. Do you really think the sixth best team in the SEC is one of the 12 best teams in the country?

America's team? What sort of silliness is that? Other than Carolina fans, who is clamoring for us to be in the playoff? They ARE pleasing the people who wanted the playoff in the first place, ESPN/Disney. When fans in general accept that the playoff is not a real championship but a reality tv show based on an invitational tournament in college football put on by ESPN/Disney they will be much happier when their favorite team isn't invited.

This has been a great season and a bowl win will give us our fifth 10 win season in our history. Don't let not getting into some tv created tournament ruin that.