SMU in, but Bama, Miami out in CFP field reveal
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Andrea Adelson, ESPN Senior Writer
Undefeated Oregon earned the No. 1 overall seed in the first 12-team College Football Playoff field announced Sunday, while SMU — despite a loss in the ACC championship game — nudged out Alabama to earn the final spot.
No. 2 seed Georgia (11-2), No. 3 seed Boise State (12-1) and No. 4 seed Arizona State (11-2) were awarded first-round byes, guaranteed to the four highest-rated conference champions.
Clemson (10-3), which unexpectedly won the ACC title on a last-second 56-yard field goal, missed out on a first-round bye and was seeded No. 12. The Tigers will play at No. 5 seed Texas (11-2).
The other first-round matchups include: No. 11 seed SMU (11-2) at No. 6 seed Penn State (11-2); No. 10 seed Indiana (11-1) at No. 7 Notre Dame (11-1); and No. 9 seed Tennessee (10-2) at No. 8 seed Ohio State (10-2).
Those first-round games will be played Dec. 20 and Dec. 21 at home sites.
THE BRACKET IS SET ✍️
Who are you taking to win the #CFBPlayoff? pic.twitter.com/9BDWwesEVL
— ESPN (@espn) December 8, 2024
The biggest debate entering Sunday’s reveal was what the committee would do with SMU. Headed into the ACC championship game, the Mustangs were ranked No. 8 and went undefeated in league play. Coach Rhett Lashlee and ACC commissioner Jim Phillips insisted that should be enough to make it regardless of what happened against Clemson.
Though the committee had previously said teams should not be punished for losing in a conference championship game, they left themselves wiggle room by saying much of that would be determined based on the game itself.
SMU trailed Clemson by 17 points before rallying to tie the game with 16 seconds left. Clemson, however, got into field goal range in two plays and won 34-31 to earn the ACC’s automatic berth. Afterward, Lashlee said it would be “criminal” and “wrong on so many levels” if the committee chose to leave them out of the playoff.
“We showed up, and we competed our butts off. We should be in. They know we should be in,” Lashlee said Saturday night.
Alabama (9-3), meanwhile, did not play Saturday but had been the last team in the field in the penultimate rankings.
A quick schedule comparison shows Alabama with the edge over SMU in a few categories — ranking higher than SMU in strength of record (No. 9; SMU was 15th) and FPI (fourth; SMU ranks No. 13).
While Alabama has a victory over SEC champion Georgia 41-34 and two other Top 25 wins, the Crimson Tide have three losses, including two to .500 teams — 40-35 to Vanderbilt and an ugly 24-3 road loss to Oklahoma on Nov. 23.
SMU, meanwhile, has two losses by a combined six points to ACC champ Clemson and 10-2 BYU. While the Mustangs do not have a win over a team currently ranked in the Top 25, they do have a 5-2 record against teams over .500; Alabama is 5-1 against teams over .500 but there are two additional two losses to 6-6 teams.
The ACC was in a similar situation on selection Sunday just last season, when its undefeated conference champion, Florida State, was left out of the four-team playoff in favor of one-loss SEC champion Alabama.
There had been consternation throughout the week that the ACC might once again lose a playoff spot to the SEC and Alabama, but also real questions about the value of conference championship games if teams that are ranked in the Top 12 entering those games could drop out with losses.
Among other teams who felt they had a case to make it into the 12-team field, Miami (10-2) was the next team out after Alabama. Manuel said last week that those teams would essentially be locked in with no opportunity to move up into the top 12.
South Carolina finished the season with six straight wins, but it lost head-to-head to Alabama and Ole Miss. Miami, meanwhile, lost two of its final three games but had a better record against bowl teams on the road (4-2) than Alabama (1-3).
Boise State beat UNLV 21-7 in the Mountain West championship game to earn its bye. The Broncos have the 81st-ranked strength of schedule, but they have been in position for a first-round bye since Nov. 19, when they moved ahead of the highest-ranked Big 12 team.
Arizona State, which was ranked No. 15 entering Sunday, beat Iowa State 45-19 in the Big 12 championship game and moved to No. 12 in the overall rankings, giving it the final first-round bye over the ACC champion Tigers.
The four quarterfinal games will be staged at the VRBO Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl presented by Prudential and Allstate Sugar Bowl on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.
The two semifinal games will take place at the Capital One Orange Bowl and Goodyear Cotton Bowl on Jan. 9 and 10.
The CFP National Championship presented by AT&T is scheduled for Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
INDIANAPOLIS — Kyle Larson experienced his first crash at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, the second day that Indianapolis 500 drivers participated in open testing on the 2.5-mile oval.
The 2021 NASCAR champion spun coming out of the first turn, hit the wall and bounced down to the warmup lane before tapping the wall a second time and eventually rolling to a stop.
Larson blamed himself, saying he forgot to hit the weight jacker going into the turn. But he also tried to find some positive from the incident.
“I’m happy to crash my first Indy car and live through it,” Larson said.
IN THE WALL 😬@KyleLarsonRacin makes contact with the wall exiting Turn 1 and in Turn 2.
📺: INDYCAR YouTube pic.twitter.com/5TE5c1BXDs
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) April 24, 2025
An Arrow McLaren official told The Indianapolis Star that Larson will not take part in the Thursday afternoon practice session due to the crash damage. The team decided not to rush the repairs, which would have left minimal practice time at best, the official said.
Larson is attempting to complete “the double” by racing in both the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on May 25. His first attempt was thwarted by a rain delay in the 2024 Indy 500 that saw him arrive to the NASCAR race just as that race was called off for weather.
He wasn’t the only familiar name to crash Thursday. Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato crashed shortly after Larson, losing the back end of his car in the first turn and smacking the wall hard in the short chute before rolling to a stop.
“Lost it,” Sato said. “I simply lost it.”
Both drivers were checked at the infield hospital and released.
Graham Rahal also tapped the wall late in Wednesday’s practice.
Series officials added horsepower to the cars for the Thursday morning session as they test the IndyCar hybrid, which makes its IMS debut next month. An afternoon session without the boost closes out the two-day test.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Jesse Rogers
CHICAGO — Los Angeles Dodgers starter Blake Snell will back off his throwing program as he continues to recover from left shoulder inflammation, according to manager Dave Roberts.
“As he was playing catch, he just didn’t feel great,” Roberts said Wednesday afternoon before the Dodgers played the Chicago Cubs. “Right now, we’re going to slow play the throwing. Will probably get it looked at again when we get back home.”
Snell, 32, has been on the injured list since early April after making just two starts for the Dodgers. He signed a five-year, $182 million contract this past offseason.
Snell, who was set to throw a bullpen session Wednesday, felt discomfort in the shoulder while playing catch Tuesday. Roberts was asked how concerning the latest setback was.
“I wouldn’t say concerning because part of the messaging from us to Blake is, it’s about later on in the season and if there’s any type of discomfort, let’s not try to fight through it,” Roberts responded.
Snell is one of several Dodgers pitchers on the mend, including left-hander Clayton Kershaw, who pitched three innings in a minor league start Tuesday, his second rehab outing this spring.
“Velocity was good,” Roberts said. “Got into the fourth inning. He’ll make a start next week. Really positive stuff.”
The Dodgers also received positive news about right-hander Tyler Glasnow after he left his last start with leg cramps. His latest bullpen session went well, according to Roberts.
Meanwhile, Shohei Ohtani is throwing again after missing time on the paternity list. He’ll have another bullpen session Saturday as he recovers from elbow surgery, though the team still doesn’t have a timetable for his return to major league action.
The team was also without catcher Will Smith on Wednesday after he injured his wrist on a play at the plate in Tuesday’s loss to the Cubs.
“As he made the tag, his [left] wrist turned in and so there’s some residual soreness,” Roberts said.
Smith could get imaging done when the team returns to Los Angeles, but Roberts wasn’t overly concerned about the injury.
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