The big mystery of the College Football Playoff bracket was leaked minutes before airing on ESPN.
At 11:59 a.m. Sunday, one minute before the start of the selection show in which the bracket reveal was dragged out for more than half an hour, Action Network’s Brett McMurphy, who used to work at ESPN, reported on X that SMU was in and Alabama was out.
Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellinger noted that this is “believed to be” the first time any bracket information has leaked before the reveal in the CFP’s 11-year history.
The tweet caught the attention of SMU coach Rhett Lashlee.
“Shortly before it was announced, I saw a tweet from Brett McMurphy and the Vegas odds started shifting,” Lashlee said on ESPN’s selection show after the bracket was revealed. “It probably took my heart rate from 200 to about 160. Until we saw SMU up there, you are just hanging on the edge.”
College Football Playoff chair Warde Manuel said the committee felt SMU, which was projected to get in prior to Saturday’s ACC championship game loss to Clemson, played well enough in the defeat that the team deserved to remain in the field.
“We felt like, in this case, SMU had the nod above Alabama, but it’s no disrespect to Alabama’s strength of schedule,” Manuel said.
Many believed Alabama was set to get into the playoff if SMU lost in the ACC championship game on Saturday — which they did, 34-31, despite a late comeback.
But ultimately, Alabama was left off following a three-loss season, which saw them miss out on a berth in the SEC Championship Game as well.
The top four seeds are Oregon, Georgia, Boise State and Arizona State. They all receive a first-round bye.
SMU, seeded No. 11, will face No. 6 Penn State, while No. 5 Texas plays No. 12 Clemson, No. 7 Notre Dame faces No. 10 Indiana and No. 8 Ohio State squares off against No. 9 Tennessee.
The CFP will begin on Dec. 20 and will conclude with the championship game on Jan. 20.
Alabama (9-3) was hurt by a 40-35 loss to a Vanderbilt team that finished 6-6 and a 24-3 loss to Oklahoma, which also finished 6-6.
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