By the end of the ACC Championship Game, there were 2 distinct factions. People who were buzzing after an amazing game that came down right to the wire, and Alabama fans. The walk-off 56-yard field goal didn’t just send Clemson through to the inaugural 12-team CFP. The knock-on effect from Charlotte reverberated all the way across to Tuscaloosa.

It’s as if the football gods conjured the perfect script for both SMU and Clemson. For large parts, Dabo Swinney’s Tigers seemed to be running away with the conference and their adversary’s hopes. However, the Mustangs rallied a late surge to eventually equalize. Although they lost, the margin and fashion of the result mean many, including David Pollack, believe no.8 SMU shall remain in the committee’s top 11. This will, of course, entail a CFP berth, at Bama’s expense.

In the aftermath of the Championship weekend drawing to a close, Pollack took to his namesake YouTube channel to leverage his thoughts on the final spot. “I think SMU is in, because it was a great game and it was an extra game. So I think that’s why they’re going to be in. Does Alabama have more impressive wins on the season? Yes, they absolutely do. If SMU lost a different way, I probably would have a stronger opinion that Alabama would be in. But SMU losing the way they did, I just don’t see it. I think SMU is in. That’s what I think would make the most sense,” he said.

Going into the weekend, the general notion was that the committee has made a rod for its own back. If SMU won, the scenario was straightforward- Alabama was in. However in the scenario which eventually transpired, there is a hugely important decision at the committee’s decree. A Clemson win means SMU and Bama are in a virtual shootout for a single-admission ticket.

While the Alabama Crimson Tide proverbially sat on their couch watching things unfold, SMU actually played an extra game. So will the committee reprimand the Mustangs for their own success? Punishing teams for losing their conference championship game is a slippery slope. The precedent set in year 1 of this new format will almost perpetually have to be abided by the committee. Especially, again, because of the margin and fashion of the loss. It would be viewed as blasphemous if Alabama were ranked ahead of SMU on Selection Sunday.

CFP Committee to declare Alabama and other’s fate on Selection Sunday

The revamped playoffs don’t even begin for another fortnight. Yet, it somehow feels like we’ve lived through multiple seasons worth. Hypotheticals, projections, simulations- college football fans and the media alike have revelled in talking points. Some may deem the conversation taxing at this juncture. However, the imagination game is on the cusp of becoming obsolete.

The CFP committee will finally present the official bracket on Sunday, December 8. Some schools have known their fate prematurely, but a bunch haven’t. How the pieces will fall can be evaluated to an extent. Oregon and Georgia, for example, will almost certainly be the 1 and 2 seeds respectively. In the case of someone like Penn State or Notre Dame though, they are unaware of their disposition at this moment.

All eyes will be peeled on the committee’s final verdict. Then, it’s less discourse about ancillary stuff and more about the actual games. No people will be on edge more than those with a rooting interest in SMU. They’ll hope the powers that be do right by them. With a behemoth blueblood like the Alabama Crimson Tide involved, you just never know. The final CFP rankings and bracket get revealed at 12 noon ET on ESPN.