College Football Playoffs: Alabama left out as committee rewards SMU’s wins over Crimson Tide’s strong schedule

Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer watches his team play against Oklahoma during the second half of a NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Norman, Okla. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

By CLIFF BRUNT AP Sports Writer

The College Football Playoff committee took SMU’s wins over Alabama’s strength of schedule, picking the Mustangs for the final at-large spot in the tournament field on Sunday.

The bracket was expanded from four to 12 teams this season, but that didn’t save the committee from controversy.

SMU (11-2) showed it could compete against a traditional power, losing to Clemson 34-31 on a 56-yard field goal in the ACC title game on the final play. The Mustangs’ only regular-season loss was at home to 10-win BYU in the third game of the season, when the Cougars kicked the go-ahead field goal with just under two minutes remaining.

Kevin Jennings took over as starting quarterback after that game, and the Mustangs won the rest of their regular-season games. After the loss to Clemson, SMU coach Rhett Lashlee spoke up for his team.

“It would be criminal if we’re not in,” he said.

SMU, seeded 11th, will visit No. 6 seed Penn State in the first round.

Alabama (9-3) had some ups and downs in its first season under coach Kalen DeBoer. The Crimson Tide had quality wins against Georgia and South Carolina, but lost at Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Oklahoma.

The main issue was the 24-3 loss to Oklahoma. The struggling Sooners dominated, rushing for 250 yards against the Crimson Tide despite having several key injuries. Oklahoma finished the regular season with a 6-6 record.

There was more controversy. In the days leading up to the announcement. Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said he didn’t believe any Group of Five team should get the bye over a Power Four champion, citing strength of schedule. But Boise State got a No. 3 seed, ahead of Big 12 champion Arizona State, which was seeded fourth.

“I don’t want to get into too much about how we’re positioned versus other conferences,” Yormark said before the Big 12 title game on Saturday. “But I will say, where I sit, there should be no comparison between us and any G5 conference champion. I’ll double down on that for sure. Hopefully the selection committee will do what they need to do.”

Several other teams with strong seasons were left out of the field. In the final AP poll released Sunday, Alabama was No. 11, South Carolina was No. 14, Miami was No. 15 and Ole Miss was No. 16. Miami stumbled late in the season after a strong start. Alabama, South Carolina and Ole Miss all lost three SEC games.

In first round games:

No. 9 Tennessee will play at No. 8 Ohio State at 7PM on Dec. 21, with the winner to face No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl at 4PM on January 1.

No. 12 Clemson will play at No. 5 Texas at 3PM on Dec. 21, with the winner to face No. 4 Arizona State in the Peach Bowl at Noon on January 1.

No. 10 Indiana will play at No. 7 Notre Dame at 7PM on Dec. 20, with the winner to face No. 2 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl at 7:45PM on January 1.

No. 11 SMU will play at No. 6 Penn State at 11AM on Dec. 21, with the winner to face No. 3 Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl at 6:30PM on Dec. 31.

(All times Central Standard Time)

One semifinal will be the Orange Bowl game on Jan. 9, with the other the Cotton Bowl game on Jan. 10.

The CFP National Championship Game will be Jan. 20 in Atlanta.

(Copyright 2024 The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)