It doesn't matter how many teams the College Football Playoff expands to, someone is going to be mad or upset that their team didn't make it in. However, some teams have better reasons of being upset than others do.
South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer is furious with the selection committee for snubbing the Gamecocks when it came to selecting the teams that will get it. While it is not official yet which teams have made it in, it feels that way as the Gamecocks only moved up one spot from last week to No. 14 in the latest CFP rankings. The playoff commissioner also admitted that teams who aren't playing this weekend will not move from where they are now, which means South Carolina is out.
South Carolina did not have the perfect season, but they did play a very tough schedule, which included seven ranked opponents against which they went 4-3. The Gamecock's only three losses during the season came against ranked opponents LSU, Alabama, and Ole Miss. However, the point of the playoff expansion was to allow teams to suffer a few losses and still be able to get in if their resume was good enough.
Well, the committee showed that it doesn't matter who you play, they are going to do everything they can to get the people they want in, in. Beamer is fed up with it and called out the selection committee in his latest press conference.
Shane Beamer makes a great point: why play a tough schedule if the committee doesn't care?
— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) December 4, 2024
"Is there anything to gain by playing some of these games out of conference?
"Clearly, you can go through an entire season not beat a ranked team and be in the Playoff if you just win."… pic.twitter.com/XMiTrrJSLK
South Carolina played ranked opponents in more than half of their games this season, and while, yes, they lost a few, that is something the committee should have taken into consideration. There have been other teams this season that have played very few ranked opponents, and the ones they did play, they lost to, but they are still in the playoff.
Beamer admitted that it feels like teams shouldn't play anyone outside of their conference if they want the committee to give them a fair shot. South Carolina is set to play Virginia Tech in Atlanta next year, but Beamer admits he knows that won't be a game that will help the Gamecocks' resume next year. However, teams can't only play other teams in their conference, or maybe that is simply the direction college football is heading in.
Gamecocks absolutely deserved a shot to get into the CFP with the way they ended the season playing their best football of the year and looking like a team no one wanted to face, but they don't have crimson-colored uniforms and a cursive "A" on their helmet.
All South Carolina can do now is win every game next season to secure their spot in the playoff, because at this point that is what they have to do in order to get in.