Cast your minds back a few days. As the penultimate CFP rankings beckoned, the discourse revolved around the bubble of teams on the periphery. This included Miami, alongside a trifecta of teams from the southeast with matching 9-3 records. Voices from outside as well as inside (Lane Kiffin’s still going) these schools lobbied for their selection at the top of this mini-hierarchy. Alas, the committee decided to afford Alabama the shot instead of Ole Miss and South Carolina.

Presently, there are new data points in the mix. Clemson has just won the ACC in sensational circumstances. The same Clemson team that the South Carolina Gamecocks beat handily a fortnight ago. When Dabo Swinney and the Tigers walked off the field that day, they were essentially out. Help from an unlikely source in the form of Syracuse meant they were even in Charlotte in the first place. That shows how unexpected future events can alter the past. CFB analyst Adam Breneman hinted at something along these lines.

In the aftermath of Clemson’s upset over SMU, Breneman said, “I hate how the committee said that teams that don’t play [this weekend] can’t move in the rankings. I mean, South Carolina has now beaten the ACC champion two weeks ago as part of their run, to improve [the chances of] them having the best resume of those 3 SEC teams…It ain’t gonna happen. South Carolina ain’t gonna make the playoffs, it sounds like, at least from what we’ve been told. But I mean does the resume not change a little bit when you beat a conference champion two weeks ago?” This rather shrewd take opens a whole new can of worms.

The conversation around the final berth has ceased. Clemson’s aforementioned escapades meant they locked an auto-bid spot as ACC Champs. That left SMU on the proverbial chopping block. Then again, would the committee reprimand the Mustangs for their own success? They made it to their conference championship game. Meanwhile, the likes of SCal and Alabama were merely observers from home.

Punishing SMU for coming short is a slippery slope. The precedent that the CFP committee sets at the onset of the 12-team format will almost perpetually have to be abided by. Especially because of the margin and fashion of how SMU lost. A 56-yard walk-off field goal shouldn’t drop the Mustangs all the way behind Bama or even South Carolina for that matter. The Tide and the Gamecocks will have to wait their turn. Some difficult conversations are about to stem from those of an SEC persuasion.

Selection Sunday verdict soars the potential for controversy to stem out of the SEC

The 2024 season marked a new era for CFB. As hyperbolic as that may sound, it’s true. The advent of a 12-team playoff and the conference realignment changed the dynamics of the sport. These two facets, in tandem, presented a question. Will the perceived “best” conferences, such as the SEC, be given biased treatment in December?  That appears to not be the case.

The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel shed light on this after the committee revealed the final CFP rankings on Selection Sunday. Mandel posted on X,”I can’t imagine a scenario that would set off Greg Sankey more than this one. Not just Bama, but South Carolina sitting home while an ACC team it beat on the road and finished higher than is automatic. Should be a fun offseason.”

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey would surely take issue with the committee’s decree. Could we have the playoffs restructured ahead of next season? The auto-bid stipulation has already garnered a lot of disdain. With how much firepower the SEC is perceived to have on and off the gridiron, it will be a controversial offseason indeed.