The College Football Playoff selection committee took SMU’s wins over Alabama’s strength of schedule, picking the Mustangs for the final at-large spot Sunday after a furious public debate and days of lobbying and arguing over which teams should make the 12-team field.
SMU (11-2) showed it could compete against a traditional power, storming back from 17 down before losing to Clemson 34-31 on a 56-yard field goal on the final play of the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game late Saturday. The late-game rally probably did the trick in getting Mustangs into the field Sunday.
“I just think America saw SMU belongs,” coach Rhett Lashlee told ESPN on Sunday after his team got in. “We’re a team that has a chance to compete for this championship. And to some degree, I think we’re a little bit America’s team after last night.”
The Mustangs, seeded 11th, will visit No. 6 seed Penn State in the first round.
The bracket was expanded this season after 10 editions as a four-team event, but that didn’t help traditional Southeastern Conference power Alabama or save the 13-member selection committee from controversy that began over the past two weeks as the CFP rankings — and “data points” — were parsed and criticized. The squabbling wasn’t limited to who should be in the field but also who should get consideration for first-round byes.