🏈 SMU In, Bama Out: The Right Choice?

At the end of the day, there really is no right answer. I feel bad for the selection committee, they’re never going to win. But did they get the last team in right?

The massive debate entering Sunday morning’s reveal was what the committee would do with SMU, Alabama, and some will argue Miami U. The Mustangs were ranked 8 last week, but their loss to Clemson in the ACC Championship game really clouded the CFP bracket.

Alabama, who had lost 3 games this year, was on the outside looking in. Bama fans hoped that their wins over top opponents like Georgia, South Carolina, Missouri, and LSU would be enough to jump SMU. But it was Bama’s losses to unranked Vanderbilt and Oklahoma that really ended their season.

The committee went with SMU, who despite playing a much weaker schedule than Bama, managed to go 11-1 in the regular season. SMU didn’t really have any big losses, but went down big to Clemson before they came all the way back just to lose on a walk-off 56-yard FG by the Tigers. SMU is part of the new blood of power conference teams that were highly successful in their season in their respective conference, teams like Texas, Arizona State, and Oregon.

Was the committee right to go with SMU? Personally, I think they were. The Mustangs, while not always facing the best competition, are a perfect example of why this new CFP format is so cool. So many new teams get to compete for a championship. SMU took care of business all year long, and they looked like the high-power offense we all expected in the second half against Clemson.

Sure, could Alabama beat SMU? Maybe. But I don’t care. The problem with Bama is you don’t know what team you’re going to get. You could get the team that beat Georgia and LSU. You could also get the team that lost to Oklahoma and Vanderbilt. If they took care of business in those games, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. SMU played good teams, they didn’t play top 25 teams maybe, but it is not their fault the ACC had a down year.

Bama: Win the games you’re supposed to, and then we’ll talk.

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