David Hale, ESPN Staff WriterDec 1, 2024, 05:33 PM ET
CloseCollege football reporter.Joined ESPN in 2012.Graduate of the University of Delaware.Open Extended Reactions
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,