It was a long 12 hours or so of waiting for SMU football, but it finally got the good news it had been waiting to hear. On Sunday morning, SMU got the news that it was still selected to be in the College Football Playoff in favor of Alabama even after losing 34-31 to Clemson in the ACC Championship Game on Saturday night.

Rhett Lashlee and the Mustangs were awarded the No. 11 seed and they will now prepare to travel to Happy Valley to take on No. 6-seed Penn State. After SMU was selected, Lashlee delivered an inspiring message about its team and what it showed with its comeback in the second half on Saturday night.

“I think what America saw last night, particularly in the second half and the fourth quarter, was just the fight and the competitive character our team has,” Lashlee said. “They saw Kevin Jennings and what a superstar he is, and Brashard Smith and our defense. … I think America saw what SMU is capable of. I think they saw the ceiling. We are a team that if we play four good quarters of football, we can go win at Penn State. We can win in the next round and so on and so forth. I think America saw SMU belongs.”

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SMU went down 24-7 against Clemson in the ACC Championship Game thanks to a litany of miscues on offense and special teams, but the Mustangs stormed back in the second half to even the score at 31 with under a minute to go. However, a long Clemson kickoff return and a quick completion set them up for a 56-yard field goal on the final play of regulation. Nolan Hauser drilled it and sent the Tigers to the playoffs.

Much of the discussion following SMU's close loss was surrounding who would get the final at-large spot in the College Football Playoff between Lashlee's club and Alabama. The Crimson Tide didn't play in a conference championship game on Saturday, but they do have the quality wins that helped them garner serious consideration for a spot.

In the end, SMU's consistency and excellence within its own conference won out. Alabama had the flashier wins, but it also lost two games against 6-6 teams in Oklahoma and Vanderbilt. SMU, on the other hand, didn't lose to a team raked outside of the top 2o and is being rewarded for reaching its conference championship game. Now, Lashlee and company want to prove that they are no fluke.