If SMU loses today, they are effectively knocked out of the ACC Championship Game race and their College Football Playoff hopes end.

ACC title implications

SMU entered this weekend in a “win-and-in” situation for grabbing one of the two ACC Championship Game spots, needing only to beat Cal to clinch a berth. With a loss, their destiny shifts to complicated tiebreakers involving teams like Duke, Pitt, Virginia, and others, and updated reports indicate that SMU has now been eliminated from ACC title contention under those tiebreaker rules.

Playoff and bowl impact

Because SMU’s only realistic path to the expanded College Football Playoff was to win the ACC title, a loss today closes off any playoff route. SMU will still be bowl eligible and can land in a non‑playoff ACC‑affiliated bowl, but their shot at the conference championship and CFP is gone.