SMU captured the last open spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff on Sunday, edging Alabama to land in a bracket that placed undefeated Oregon at No. 1.
The selection committee preferred the Mustangs (11-2), losers of a heartbreaker in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game, who had a far less difficult schedule than Alabama (9-3) of the SEC but one fewer loss.
The first 12-team bracket marks a new era for college football, though the Alabama-SMU debate made clear there is no perfect formula for identifying a champion.
The tournament starts Dec. 20-21 with four first-round games involving teams seeded 5-12. It concludes Jan. 20 with the national title game in Atlanta.
Georgia, the SEC champion, was seeded second; Boise State, the Mountain West champion, earned the third seed; and Big 12 titlist Arizona State got the fourth seed and the final first-round bye.
All will play in quarterfinals at bowl games on Dec. 31-Jan. 1.
Clemson stole a bid and the 12th seed with its win over SMU — the result that ultimately cost Alabama a spot in the field. The Tigers moved to No. 16 in the rankings but got in as the fifth-best conference winner.
There was some tension around how the rest of the teams were seeded because that determined who gets home-field advantage in the first round. The games, with exact dates and times still pending, are No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas; No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State; No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame; and No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State.
