re: If not for "the Shoe", would the Gators have snagged the 4th playoff spot

No. The only team that can lose a CCG and still make the cut is Notre Dame. Certainly not an SEC team.

The media is in love with Ohio St, they could have lost a game, won their CCG and still would have been selected.

The Southeast has surged ahead of the rest of the country regarding football and there is danger it could become a regional sport, more than it is already. College football needs the big ten to get better and needs the PAC to be better on the national stage.