A 34-31 loss to Clemson in the ACC Championship Game left the SMU Mustangs dreaming of a first-round bye and sweating over whether they’ll even receive a CFP invite.

With SMU entering the game ranked No. 8 in the CFP rankings, SMU’s disappointing loss could be enough in the eyes of the selection committee to knock the Mustangs out of the 12-team bracket.

The Mustangs, who were projected to finish in the middle of the ACC field in the preseason, earned a perfect 8-0 record in the ACC and an 11-1 overall record in regular season play, going from unranked to a top-ten team until the end of the season.

But the ACC is widely considered a weaker conference than the Big Ten or SEC, and many experts expect SMU’s stumble will cause the team to fall behind the SEC’s Alabama squad, which suffered three losses .

Despite producing 15 of the last 18 national champions, the deference he brought to the Big Ten and SEC conferences did not sit well with third-year SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee when he spoke on the subject earlier in the season.

“When other leagues compete internally, they are considered a deep, solid league, but when we compete internally, we are considered a weak league,” Lashlee said of the perception of the ACC. “I just want our league to get the same respect as everyone else.”

The Mustangs seek long-awaited redemption.

In 1987, SMU became the first – and to date only – football program to receive the “death penalty” after a widespread scheme in which players were paid to come to school was exposed. The NCAA canceled SMU’s 1987 season and the Mustangs didn’t play another football game until 1989.