SMU HC Rhett Lashlee Reflects on CFP Choosing Mustangs Over Alabama

The College Football Playoff committee picked SMU as the 11-seed last season in the inaugural 12-team format, but Lashlee believes "we both should've been in."

Dec 21, 2024; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Southern Methodist Mustangs head coach Rhett Lashlee reacts during the first half against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The morning of December 8, 2024, was rough for Alabama football.

The night before, Crimson Tide fans were switching up who to root for in the ACC Championship between Clemson and SMU, as the winner would automatically qualify for the 12-team College Football Playoff, while the loser wasn't guaranteed to contend for it as well.

Alabama didn't make the SEC Championship, so its chances of reaching the CFP before this game were very much in limbo. But if one ACC team dominated the other, the Crimson Tide very well could've clinched a spot. However, Clemson kicker Nolan Hauser hit a 56-yard field goal as time expired to win the game 34-31 over SMU.

That Selection Sunday morning, the results of the evenly matched contest were enough to put both Clemson (12-seed––fifth-highest ranked conference champion) and SMU (11-seed) into the College Football Playoff while Alabama was outside of bracket.

"I felt like we definitely deserved to be in, but after we came up just short about 12 hours earlier in that ACC Championship game with Clemson, I cannot say I felt great," Lashlee told The Next Round on Tuesday. "The way it looked like it was shaping up to be us or Alabama, which I'm not sure that's the way it should've shaped up.

Lashlee admitted that "we both should've been in," but the CFP committee thought otherwise.

"But obviously, that morning when we got the news, it was really special and pretty cool for my family, our staff, our team," Lashlee said. "Then, I kind of figured out shortly after that I'm not sure if I was a more disliked person in the state of Alabama then or after the Kick Six. But we were in and I was good with it."

Lashlee was a graduate assistant at Auburn in 2009 and 2010 and was the Tigers' offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2013 (the year of the Kick Six) to 2016.

Nevertheless, neither Alabama nor SMU had a happy ending to their respective seasons as the Crimson Tide was upset by Michigan 19-13 in the ReliaQuest Bowl, while the Mustangs were obliterated by Penn State 38-10 on the road in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

Of course, both programs have long since turned the page to this upcoming season and they each have high expectations.

Alabama and SMU have each been featured in numerous way-too-early top 25 rankings, and most recently, the Crimson Tide placed No. 9 on ESPN's SP+ post-spring rankings while the Mustangs were No. 15.