SMU Coach Sounds Off on ACC's College Football Playoff Treatment

Rhett Lashlee did not come to Charlotte to stay quiet.

Speaking Friday at ACC Kickoff, the SMU head coach congratulated Duke on winning the 2025 ACC championship and then argued the Blue Devils should have earned a College Football Playoff berth. In his view, the ACC champion deserved a spot ahead of Sun Belt champion James Madison.

"I think we all know they should have easily been in the playoff," Lashlee said at his opening press conference. "When you win the ACC, the way they did and who they beat, they should have been in instead of a team from the Sun Belt. But hopefully things get learned and that doesn't happen again. We should have been a two-bid league."

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The context matters because Duke reached the ACC Championship Game after winning a five-team tiebreaker, then defeated No. 20 Virginia 27-20 in overtime to win the conference title. The Blue Devils finished 8-5 and unranked in the final CFP rankings.

Under last season's format, the five highest-ranked conference champions received automatic bids. James Madison, ranked No. 24, and American Athletic Conference champion Tulane, ranked No. 20, earned playoff spots while Duke stayed home. James Madison later lost 51-34 to Oregon in the first round.

This year's 12-team CFP format would have changed that outcome. Under the new setup, the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC champions each receive an automatic bid regardless of final ranking, and the highest-ranked team from the Group of 6 also gets in, whether it wins its league or not. That means Duke would have been guaranteed a spot as ACC champion, and the top Group of 6 team would have filled the other automatic berth.

The comments quickly sparked reaction online, with James Madison fans pushing back on Lashlee's remarks. Others argued Notre Dame also had a case for the final playoff spot, but Lashlee made it clear he stood firmly with Duke.

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The debate is personal for SMU. The Mustangs reached the ACC Championship Game and the College Football Playoff in their first season in the conference before missing a return trip to the title game by one win in 2025. Lashlee's push for the ACC to receive multiple CFP bids reflects the standard SMU is chasing. If the Mustangs compete for another conference title in 2026, he wants the ACC champion and top contenders to receive the same respect as other power conferences.

The playoff format has since changed, and the updated structure is viewed as more favorable for rewarding the nation's best teams. Lashlee made one point clear in Charlotte: The ACC has not forgotten last season, and neither has he.