They stopped them on third down. So only down by 17.
They could expand the playoff to five teams by having the loser of the SEC championship play the SEC team that finished second in the other division in one quarter final, the top two non-SEC teams play each other in the other quarter final, the winners play each other in the semi-final, with the winner of this playing the winner of the SEC championship game for the national title.
If Cincinnati were playing in the SEC I rather doubt it would have made the playoff under the above format—and the above quarterfinals and the semifinal would likely all be more interesting than at least one and likely both of the semifinals are going to be this year.
A Georgia-Alabama rematch will be fun to watch, but there is a better way to get there, and a load of SEC matchups that would be more fun to watch than the two powerhouses prepping to death to ensure that they will meet each resulting in about as much drama as Sherman going through Georgia. Georgia vs. Ole Miss to play the winner of Michigan vs. either Baylor or Oklahoma State would result in four games worth watching.
Agreed.