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With the conference championship games now wrapped up, the inaugural 21-team College Football Playoffs bracket has been set. As the most interesting result of the release, SMU snuck into the picture at No. 11 over Alabama.
Many were surprised to see the Crimson Tide excluded, prompting chairman Warde Manuel to offer an explanation. Manuel, the athletic director at Michigan, explained that the selection committee was more impressed by SMU's performance in their ACC Championship Game loss to Clemson than they have been by Alabama all year.
“[We were impressed by] the way SMU played in [the ACC title] game, losing on a last-second field goal,” Manuel said, via Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger. “We felt like, in this case, SMU had the nod above Alabama, but it's no disrespect to Alabama's strength of schedule.”
SMU suffered their second loss of the year in the ACC Championship Game, falling to Clemson 34-31. The loss ended their nine-game win streak and dropped them to 11-2 on the year. Interestingly, SMU's No. 11 seeding is one spot ahead of No. 12 Clemson despite the result.
Alabama did not compete in the SEC Championship Game and was the only three-loss team in consideration. The Crimson Tide's lopsided Week 13 loss to Oklahoma put them out of position to win the conference and ultimately cost them a berth into the College Football Playoffs.
The official result grants SMU their first College Football Playoffs appearance since the format debuted in 2014. They achieved the feat in their first year as a member of the ACC after 11 years with the American Athletic Conference.
SMU to face Penn State in CFP opening round
As the No. 11 seed, SMU will need to hit the road for their first game in the College Football Playoffs. The Mustangs will travel north to State College and face the No. 6-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions on Dec. 21.
The top four teams – Oregon, Georgia, Boise State and Arizona State — all receive a first-round bye. The next four seeds — Penn State, Texas, Notre Dame and Ohio State — get home-field advantage in the first round against the bottom four teams.
Both SMU and Penn State are coming off one-score losses in their respective conference title games. While neither have many significant wins on their resumes, Penn State has one win over a currently ranked team to SMU's zero.
Through five road games in 2024, SMU has gone a perfect 5-0 away from home. The Mustangs' on the road included a win over then No. 22-ranked Louisville in Week 6. The Nittany Lions are 6-1 at home on the year.
