*Seeds:

1 Oregon

2 Texas

3 SMU

4 Boise State

5 Penn State

6 Georgia

7 Notre Dame 

8 Ohio State

9 Tennessee

10 Indiana 

11 South Carolina

12 Arizona State

*Seeds are not what the teams are ranked. SMU and Arizona State are not ranked third and fourth in the country. They are the third and fourth seeds due to the top four highest-ranked conference champions being top four seeds and receiving byes. 

I think every decision is pretty 

The final spot I give to South Carolina. Their resume and eye test is more impressive than the other three teams in the conversation; Ole Miss, Miami and Alabama. Their blind resumes are:

Team A: 

SOR: 10

SOS: 16

Record against ranked opponents: 3-1

GC: 5

Team B:

SOR: 18

SOS: 31

Record against ranked opponents: 2-0

GC: 2

Team C:

SOR: 11

SOS: 15

Record against ranked opponents: 3-2

GC: 9

Team D: 

SOR: 14

SOS: 55

Record against ranked opponents: 0-1

GC: 19

These metrics can help you look beyond record and see what each team has done with the schedule they have. Team A is Alabama, Team B is Ole Miss, Team C is South Carolina and Team D is Miami. Looking at each team’s resume and matching it with an eye test, I would eliminate Miami and Ole Miss from playoff contention. The final spot in the playoff should be between Alabama and South Carolina.