ups. The truth is that this is now a tournament and you play the game for a reason. The best team might not show up.... and get an early exit.
Some teams are just superior to the other team and win. But, most games are games of momentum. Whoever grabs the momentum at the right times has a better shot (see BYU vs KSU and ASU vs BYU).
SMU statistically faired well. But, they didn't convert when needed (3 trips well inside the red zone with zero points) + 2 INTs for TDs. The score was much worse than the game.
Clemson clawed their way back within 7. But, came up short and lost that momentum.
Anyone that thinks that the tournament needed Bama, South Carolina or Ole Miss are clowns. They didn't win their conferences and they have schedules that highly favor their conference. Even 2 of the top 4 B10 teams had weaker resumes than BYU.