For the College Football Playoff, it’s one last dress rehearsal. It’s also one last chance to see just how much the selection committee loves the Southeastern Conference.
The best gauge when the second-to-last rankings come out Tuesday night will be whether Miami, which suffered its second loss of the season over the weekend, is placed behind any or all three SEC teams with three losses — Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina — all of which are coming off wins.
After a 42-38 loss to Syracuse that cost Miami a spot in the ACC title game, coach Mario Cristobal emphasized the nature of his team’s two losses — both by less than one touchdown — and said “that makes us one of the better teams in the country.”
He wasn’t the only one lobbying to make the 12-team field, which is eight teams larger than it has been. Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin went to social media and emptied out the stats book, pointing out a flurry of numbers that he says favor the Rebels over the other SEC teams (without mentioning Miami at all).
Not surprisingly, Shane Beamer of South Carolina and Kalen DeBoer of Alabama were pushing for their teams, too.