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David Hale, ESPN Staff Writer
The ACC is hoping it won’t be a one-bid league, and the two coaches playing for the conference championship made it clear there are at least two — and possibly three — teams worthy of a College Football Playoff bid.
SMU and Clemson will face off Saturday with the ACC’s guaranteed playoff bid on the line. The problem for SMU is the Mustangs are safely in as of today with an 11-1 record, but a loss to Clemson in the ACC championship game could put the Mustangs’ playoff hopes in jeopardy as the SEC pushes to get at least one of its four 9-3 programs — Alabama, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Missouri — into the 12-team field.
“I think our kids have earned the right to be one of the 12 best teams in America, and I really hope the committee sees it that way,” SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said. “I do hope the committee continues to value our résumé and our total body of work. The reality is, there’s two Power 4 teams that went undefeated in their conference, and that’s Oregon and us. To me, that should mean a lot.”
SMU currently has the No. 9 strength of record, according to ESPN, and the No. 75 strength of schedule, despite playing a 10-2 BYU and 8-4 TCU out of conference. SMU’s loss to BYU came by just three points in the last game before the Mustangs made a change at quarterback, going from Preston Stone to Kevin Jennings. Since Jennings took over, SMU is 9-0, averaging more than 40 points per game and a 20 points-per-game average margin of victory.
Clemson needs to win to make the playoff after falling to South Carolina 17-14 in Week 14, but coach Dabo Swinney said the ACC’s depth and strength was on display all season and warrants multiple bids — regardless of who wins the league championship.
“For SMU, they want to win the game, but they should be in no matter what. They’ve earned that. I don’t think they should be punished. I know the system is set up to be what it is, but they’re an 11-1 football team,” he said. “And for us, we’ve got to win. But we control our destiny. If we’d had a great regular season, maybe we’d have that opportunity, but we’ve got to win. But SMU, they should be in.”
Then there’s Miami at 10-2, which was the highest ranked ACC team in last week’s top 25 at No. 6, but after blowing a 21-point lead at Syracuse in Week 14, the Canes are on the fringe of the playoff, too.
Miami’s losses are to 7-5 Georgia Tech, a team that went eight overtimes at Georgia in Week 14, and Syracuse, a 9-3 program that figures to be in the committee’s top 25 this week.
“I don’t think there’s any question we’ve separated ourselves as one of the top three leagues,” Lashlee said, “and it’s hard to objectively argue we shouldn’t have at least two teams in the playoff. I think we should be in regardless, but you look at Miami team that’s 10-2 … if it at least seems like schools like Tennessee and Ohio State that are 10-2 are in, then Miami should probably be looked at in the exact same vein.”
Swinney echoed those comments, saying he “can’t imagine Miami wouldn’t be in.”
Lashlee said he won’t do much public politicking regardless of the outcome of the ACC championship, suggesting it’s unlikely to sway the committee regardless, but he’s also confident SMU’s résumé is good enough without a sales push.
“Based on what we’ve heard and what we’ve been told, I’d like to feel good about,” Lashlee said. “Hopefully [the ACC championship game] is a reward, and we’re playing for a first-round bye. But really all we can do is control our play, and we’re going to do everything we can to win a championship.”