Sometimes, you just have to see it to believe it. There are certain things that, in theory, sound great but won’t truly be great until theory becomes reality.

When I was told by a friend that, “I guarantee that Keith Urban will put on one of the best shows you’ve ever seen,” I didn’t believe it. I, as a country music fan, had my mind made up about him. My expectations weren’t high. Then, I saw the dude do more things as a musician than anyone I had ever seen and I believed it (Chris Stapleton, Brad Paisley and Alan Jackson were also pretty awesome live). Seeing is believing.

Five weeks ago, a colleague told me “2-loss Auburn still has a path to the Playoff.” I didn’t believe it. I, as a national college football columnist, had my mind made up about 2-loss teams. After Penn State last year, I was convinced that 2-loss teams couldn’t make the Playoff, and I defended that position all the way through Saturday afternoon. Then, I saw the Tigers dominate No. 1 twice in 3 weeks in a way I had never seen before and I believed it. Seeing is indeed believing.

Auburn is absolutely making Playoff history if it wins out. Beating Alabama once and Georgia twice would be enough to get a 2-loss team into the field. Nobody in the country would have wins that impressive within the top 10.

And who in their right mind watched that Auburn team against Alabama — the Alabama — and thought it was anything less than the most impressive performance we’ve seen in college football this year? Somewhere between a Jarrett Stidham dime and a Jeff Holland hurry of Jalen Hurts, I realized that I need to stop fighting this.

Auburn is the exception to the rule.

Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Rules, in the Playoff era, are unofficial. Nowhere in the guidelines does it officially prohibit 2-loss teams from making the field.

Still, I held on to the belief that the Penn State case was about as clear of one as we were going to get. The 2-loss Lions of course ended the season on a 9-game winning streak with wins against No. 2 Ohio State and No. 6 Wisconsin in the B1G Championship. As impressive as those wins were, they weren’t as impressive as what Auburn just did.

Consider this: The last time that Alabama lost a regular-season game by double digits was against South Carolina in 2010. That was 89 consecutive games in which Nick Saban’s squad avoided a loss by 10-plus points. Saturday was no Kick-Six.

As Charles Barkley predicted, it was the kick—.

Alabama was held without a point for the final 28 minutes. Saban’s No. 1 squad wasn’t beat with gimmicky schemes. It was simply beat at the line of scrimmage, and the Tide’s speed was matched step for step on the outside.

You better believe the selection committee is going to reward Auburn for that. And why shouldn’t it? Beating Saban is the ultimate task in the sport. Period. Doing so in a way that hadn’t been done in 7 years was all the more impressive.

It was one thing to come out guns blazing against a Georgia team that hadn’t been tested in the SEC yet. It was another to come out and one-up that performance against the Tide. If the Tigers can one-up Saturday’s effort in Atlanta next week, there won’t be any doubt about it. They’re in.

And to be clear, that doesn’t mean we’re opening up the floodgates for all 2-loss teams to get in. I have been and will continue to bash anyone who suggests there’s even a path for a 2-loss Ohio State team to get into the field. Getting trounced not once but twice is too much to overcome, especially when one of those losses was a 31-point drubbing to Iowa.

But I can now admit that Auburn is in a different class. Here’s a stat that’ll blow your mind. Alabama’s best win to date was the Mississippi State win. If Auburn beats Georgia next week, the MSU win will rank 4th on the Tigers’ list of quality wins. That’s some serious perspective.

Here’s some more:

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I threw USC in there just to show that not all 2-loss “contenders” are created equal. USC is not a contender anymore. Ohio State is even less than a non-contender, despite what you’ll hear from some delusional folks this week.

The selection committee cares more about strength of wins than strength of losses as long as we’re not talking about blowout defeats. But even if that was called into question for Auburn, LSU and Clemson are legitimate top-25 teams, and both of those games were 1-possession losses on the road.

And I know what you’re thinking. Ohio State made the field over Penn State last year despite the fact that it had neither the head-to-head advantage, nor the conference title. Why couldn’t Alabama get in over Auburn using that same logic?

Even if you go back and look at that case, OSU made the field instead of Penn State because it had more quality wins. The Buckeyes beat 3 current top-10 teams (Michigan, Oklahoma, Wisconsin) compared to 2 for Penn State (Ohio State, Wisconsin). That was the argument the selection committee could go back to.

The argument is a similar one for Auburn now. Shoot, it’s a better one.

Two losses will likely prevent Auburn from earning the No. 1 overall seed in the field if it beats Georgia again. The selection committee isn’t going to suddenly put Auburn ahead of 1-loss Clemson having lost that head-to-head matchup and having an additional loss. It has to value the entire season, and not simply the final month.

That was why I argued that Auburn would fail to make the field even as a 2-loss conference champ with an Alabama win and 2 Georgia wins. Auburn was the 3rd-best team in its own division 3 weeks ago. Add in the fact that Auburn lost that marquee non-conference game to Clemson (only 2014 Ohio State lost its marquee non-conference game and still made the Playoff) and yes, I questioned how many exceptions the selection committee would be willing to make for Auburn.

If there was ever a reason to make an exception for a 2-loss team, it was for doing what Auburn did the past 3 weeks. Beating those squads, who were at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, shot to the top of the Playoff résumé accomplishments we’ve ever seen. That’s the only way a 2-loss team should be allowed to make the field.

I’m no longer questioning Auburn. Finally, I’m seeing and believing.