Zac King

I keep hearing: “South Carolina lost to Alabama and Ole Miss — how could they get in the playoff over them?” Here’s the deal: Head-to-head only matters when all else is equal. If one team has a clearly better resume, head-to-head is irrelevant. It’s the same reason NIU doesn’t make the playoff for beating Notre Dame. South Carolina’s resume is far and away better than Alabama’s or Ole Miss’s: • 6-game win streak • 4 wins over Top 25 teams Don’t tell me head-to-head matters when: • The committee ranked Alabama over Tennessee (despite Alabama losing to them). • South Carolina over LSU (despite South Carolina losing to them). The numbers don’t lie: • Oklahoma went 2-6 in the SEC (avg. loss by 17.6 PPG). • Vandy went 3-5 in the SEC (avg. loss by 8.5 PPG). Alabama lost to both on the road. South Carolina beat both on the road by 26 and 21 points. SC’s resume: • One bad game all year. • Lost their QB in the 2nd half of a 3-point loss to LSU. • Nearly won as 3-TD underdogs at Alabama. Combined record of SC’s losses: 26-10 Combined record of Alabama’s losses: 22-14 It’s simple: • SC is on a roll (6 straight wins). • They’ve beaten more ranked teams. • Their losses are better quality. It’s down to SC vs. Bama for the final playoff spot. The committee’s choice: brand vs. deserving.