BY EDDIE PELLS
AP National Writer
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, ultimately, still one fewer loss.
Oregon earned the top seed, 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 fourth and final first-round bye.
As expected, the selection committee anointed the undefeated Ducks as the favorite Sunday, while ESPN dragged out the tension on the panel’s biggest decision — whether two-loss SMU or three-loss Alabama would nab the last spot.
The first-of-its-kind 12-team bracket marks a new era for college football, though the Alabama-SMU debate made clear that 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.
More to come on this story.
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