The CFP made the right choice. USC was over-rated.
Want to make the playoffs? Don't lose 2 games.
Want to make the playoffs? Don't get blown out by an unranked team.
USC is not all that. Jeez, they got their ass kicked by Notre Dame. And the Irish ain't much this year.
Sorry, I know you are an Alabama fan, but they didn't even win their Conference... and even more sad is they scheduled a patty-cake game the week before the Iron Bowl so that they could rest guys and get healthy.
Ohio State lost to Oklahoma and at Iowa. Yeah Iowa beat them pretty good, but it is NEVER easy to win at Iowa.
No, we didn't win our conference. If that were a requirement to be in the playoffs, it would matter. It isn't. It doesn't.
But when you lose 2 games, especially one by 31 points to an unranked team, you don't go to the playoffs.
As for scheduling cupcakes, I think Mercer is as tough as Illinois, and OSU gets to call that a conference game.