Did the Big 12 Make a Big Mistake Letting SMU Go to the ACC?
In the lastest round of college football expansion, SMU badly wanted an invite to the Big 12. They practically begged, but ultimately, they got stiffed. Instead, they went to the Atlantic Coastal Conference (ACC) to play alongside teams like Miami, Clemson and Florida St.
With 3 very winnable games left on their schedule, the #13 SMU Mustangs (8–1) find themselves on the verge of the ACC conference championship game. Even a loss in one of their remaining games shouldn’t keep them from the game as they should have the needed tie-breaker over Clemson. Clemson loss to #22 Louisville, a team SMU beat 34–27.
Meanwhile, in the past couple of years, the Big 12 added:
- 8–0 BYU (#9)
- 6–2 Colorado (#20)
- 6–2 Arizona State
- 5–3 Cincinnati
- 4–5 Houston
- 4–5 UCF
- 3–6 Arizona
- 4–4 Utah
BYU gave SMU its only loss in an early schedule matchup where both teams were still finding their identity.
While #4 Miami will be heavily favored in the ACC championship game, should SMU stay undefeated until then, they would still garner a hard look for one of the 12 playoff spots. Its even possible to imagine an SMU-BYU rematch.
SMU is the only FBS school in Dallas. The closest FBS schools are UNT and TCU. The Big 12 elected to bring in 2 Arizona teams rather than the only team from the 9th largest city in the US. (DFW is also the 4th largest metroplex in the U.S.)
Is it anyone’s guess why Texas and Oklahoma left the conference to swim in SEC waters?