Despite CFP embarrassment, SMU won't be going away any time soon

Without question, the main talking point around the SMU Mustangs after Saturday is going to be the conversation of whether Rhett Lashlee's team even deserved a spot in the College Football Playoff at all. The way that the team acquitted itself — or, rather, failed to — in a brutal loss to Penn State only further strengthened the supposed argument for Alabama, Ole Miss and so on that they should've been in the CFP over the Mustangs.

It was total domination by the Nittany Lions after SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings threw two first-half pick-sixes. Penn State never relented, not willing to allow the Mustangs an ACC Championship-like game script to claw back into it. The final score was a 38-10 win for the home team in Happy Valley.

I'm among the group, however, that maintain that there shouldn't be retroactive confirmation bias. SMU deserved to not be penalized for losing the ACC Championship Game, thus earning its spot in the Playoff. However, it still might be easy to look at this performance from SMU and think they won't be back in this spot.

From where I'm sitting, that couldn't be farther from the truth.

SMU proved its here to stay, even after CFP disaster

SMU surged into the CFP in its first season as a power-conference program. While the Mustangs had been an American Athletic Conference force for several seasons prior, you can't understate the impressiveness of that feat. A move to the ACC means long-term advancement and improvement with revenue sharing and resources — but that immediate jump up can best be described as being thrown into the fire.

For the Mustangs to handle that in the manner that they did, finishing 11-1 in the regular season (even in a weak ACC) speaks volumes to the health of the program. Moreover, they were able to do that before the resource improvement really kicked in. We're also seeing that already start to tick up under Lashlee.

Even following an 11-3 season in the American with SMU, the program was outside the Top 100 in the 247Sports Composite rankings for recruiting in the 2024 cycle. One year later with the ACC logo on their chest, they're up to 32nd. Throw in a Top 40 ranking in the transfer portal already, and the roster is showing more already in the talent acquisition business.

That's the model for sustainable growth. But it's what that would also be building off of as well. Kevin Jennings may not have had the postseason SMU wanted but his talent is immensed for a quarterback who hasn't even started a full season. He's already confirmed he's returning to Dallas, which is a huge retention for the Mustangs. And he's not the only one with several other key contributors returning as well.

Does this mean that SMU is going to win a national title in the near future? Probably not — but at the same time, when you look at Clemson, Miami, Louisville, potentially Florida State (though not based on this year) and so on in the ACC, SMU can firmly instert itself into that mix and potentially continue taking steps forward.

The way the CFP berth ended will leave a bitter taste in the mouth of the Mustangs, and it probably should. But a healthy wash of Listerine should be how bright the future looks at SMU. They have every reason they'll be able to get back to this spot and have a shot at redemption.