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SMU football leaves Charlotte on pins and needles ahead of Sunday. Clemson recaptured the Atlantic Coast Conference title in final, closing fashion on a walk-off field goal 34-31. The Mustangs now stand by to see if Alabama leapfrogs them after the heartbreaking Saturday loss.
The Crimson Tide sits at No. 11 in the CFP rankings. They're in position to potentially claim one of the 12 playoff seeds. Their representation as a Southeastern Conference team fuels their chances. SMU's loss further complicates the playoff pairings for the committee. Nolan Hauser hitting a closing second 56-yard field goal ripped the heart out of SMU fans hoping to see a first-ever ACC title coming back to Dallas.
The first-year member, however, earned an army of backers after nearly pulling off the comeback over Clemson. Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney vouched for them.
“That's a playoff football team! SMU better be in the dang playoffs!” Swinney told ESPN after the win.
Even ESPN had one of its analysts become vocal for SMU: Sean McDonough, who delivered the play-by-play of the exciting finish.
“If you watched that game and don't think that, that SMU team deserves to be in the College Football Playoff, then I would respectfully, strongly disagree with you,” McDonough bluntly said during the postgame.
Chris Hummer of 247Sports called it “criminal” if a snub happens.
“It should be a criminal offense if the committee jumps Alabama over SMU,” Hummer posted. “Don't punish a team for losing a conference title game at the buzzer, especially one that sat at 11-1 coming into the week.”
SMU, meanwhile, posted a positive message on its X page. They wrote down “still have a lot to play for.”
SMU would join Oregon and Arizona State as teams who made the postseason as a new conference member if they get selected on Sunday. The city of Dallas, however, has new unrest. And it's on the SMU campus, as they find out if the committee won't punish the ACC runner-up.
