Texas coming off a stinging SEC title loss against Georgia, opens the playoffs at home with a showdown against Clemson on Dec. 21.
SMU captured the last open spot in the College Football Playoff, edging Alabama to land in a first-of-its-kind, 12-team bracket that placed undefeated Oregon at No. 1.
"We just felt, in this particular case, SMU had the nod above Alabama," said Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, the chair of the selection committee. "But it's no disrespect to Alabama's strength of schedule. We looked at the entire body of work for both teams." There's a portion of college football fandom that believes almost everything in the sport has been rigged in favor of Alabama and the SEC over recent years. The Crimson Tide has won three national titles in the 10-year history of the playoff and had made the field eight times, including last year when it edged out undefeated Florida State for the last of what was then four spots.
But the committee also indicated it was reluctant to penalize teams that play in conference title games. SMU did. Alabama didn't. And the way the Mustangs fought back from a three-touchdown deficit before finally losing to Clemson had an impact among the 13 people making the decision. There's also no reseeding of teams after each round, which means No. 1 Oregon will face the winner of Tennessee-Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. Oregon beat Ohio State 32-31 earlier this year in one of the season's best games.
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