SMU's Rhett Lashlee warns College Football Playoff committee not to 'open up that door' if SMU loses

SMU coach Rhett Lashlee is “choosing to believe” that if his team loses the ACC Championship Game to Clemson the College Football Playoff selection committee will keep the Mustangs in the field as an at-large team. Asked if SMU’s exclusion in that instance might lead to coaches trying to avoid conference championship games in the future, Lashlee said it would.

SMU landed at No. 8 in the CFP selection committee ranking released Tuesday night. The committee will release its final ranking on Sunday at noon ET. SMU plays Clemson for the ACC title in Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday night. 

“I think if you open up that door, you’re going to see a lot of people do a lot of crazy things,” Lashlee said of dropping a team that lost its conference title game out of the field. “We’re not going to. We’re going to go play in Charlotte, and we’re going to try to compete for our championship, because that’s the right thing to do. That’s what competitors do.”

Lashlee’s issue is that the Mustangs would be in the field based on their current ranking. On Tuesday, CFP selection committee chair Warde Manuel said teams that are not playing in championship games this weekend likely won’t move much from where they are. In other words, Indiana — which is currently ranked a spot below SMU and not playing in the Big Ten championship game — should feel safely in the field. The Mustangs, who likely would earn a top-four seed and a bye if they beat three-loss Clemson, still must worry about dropping below Alabama if they lose a game they earned their way into.

“If our team all got COVID today and didn’t play, we’re in,” Lashlee said. “We’re in, right? We don’t have another data point to drop us below anybody that’s behind us.”

Lashlee pointed out that the teams in the SEC and Big Ten title games aren’t being held to a similar standard. “I don’t think Georgia or Texas should be out if they lose. They’re not going to be either,” he said. “I don’t think Oregon or Penn State should be out if they lose. They’re not going to be because they’re in the field. That same logic should apply to us.” 

The participants in the Big 12 title game, Lashlee said, are in a different boat because they aren’t currently ranked high enough to make the field as at-large teams. But if Arizona State or Iowa State were in that position, he’d feel the same way. He pointed out that Boise State is in a similar position to SMU. The Broncos are ranked No. 10, but they almost certainly will fall out of the field if they lose to UNLV in Friday’s Mountain West title game.

Lashlee hopes that this discussion dies Saturday night because the Mustangs beat the Tigers and won the ACC. But if SMU doesn’t win, he’s hoping the committee doesn’t punish the Mustangs for making their conference title game. “I’m going to choose to believe that on Sunday the right thing will be done as well on the other end,” he said.