Warde Manuel, chairman of the College Football Playoff selection committee, said there was "quite a debate" between taking SMU or Alabama as the final choice in the 12-team field.
"The way SMU played in that (ACC title) game, losing on a last-second FG. 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 during Sunday's bracket reveal, per Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger.
This article will be updated soon to provide more information and analysis.
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