In Dallas, Christmas came early on Sunday for fans of SMU's football team.
“SMU baby, all the way. The Mustangs are hitting it on all the right levels,” said fan Steve Bloberger.
Fans and coaches of Dallas's Southern Methodist University are reacting to the Mustangs’ selection to the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff.
The 11-2 Mustangs shocked the college football world – and some supporters – by securing the 11th seed in the College Football Playoff, leapfrogging an Alabama team that didn’t make their conference championship game.
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“Absolutely shocked, because I think that Alabama has such a presence that they’re almost always going to be considered,” said Bloberger. “So I’m so happy for SMU that they notched over Alabama.”
After losing the ACC Championship game on a field goal at the buzzer on Saturday night, SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee called on the playoff selection committee to give the Pony Express a chance.
Now, they’ve got one.
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“For the committee to honor that and reward that and not penalize our team for playing in a conference championship game and competing the way we did, I think it’s a big deal for college football,” said Lashlee.
The Mustangs are set to take on the No. 6 seed Penn State in the Happy Valley region of Pennsylvania on Dec. 21.
Team leaders said they’ll be ready for the road test.
“We’re excited to be in the field. There’s 12 teams competing for a national championship and we’re one of them,” said Lashlee.
For now, SMU fans get to keep celebrating as this dream season stays alive. “They worked so hard for this, so thrilled for SMU, so proud of those players,” said Bloberger.
