It was a strong push, but looks like it wll come up just short.

South Carolina football is ranked No. 14 in the new College Football Playoff rankings, the final installment of the committee's rankings before it reveals the full playoff bracket on Sunday afternoon. Technically, there is a chance things can change. But with no game to play this weekend and opportunity to make a case, it feels like South Carolina's chance of sneaking into the bracket is all but over.

Everything came back to head-to-head losses. South Carolina, Ole Miss and Alabama all finished with 9-3 records and a claim at one of the final spots in the tournament, but the head-to-head losses the Gamecocks took to the Rebels and Crimson Tide in back-to-back October weeks ended up as the separating factor.

“We came out with Alabama and Mississippi ahead of South Carolina since Alabama and Mississippi both won head to head against South Carolina,” committee chairman Warde Manuel said last Tuesday in his weekly virtual press conference.

A road win at No. 12 Clemson was not enough to erase the head-to-head gap, with Ole Miss coming in at No. 13 and Alabama at No. 11.

South Carolina will now likely turn its attention to bowl seaon, with game announcements coming out on Sunday afternoon. The Citrus Bowl has the first pick of SEC teams outside the playoff, giving the Gamecocks a chance of going to Orlando. The ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa, formerly known as the Outback Bowl, is also an SEC tie-in and could be a fallback option.

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