SMU is finding out, the hard way, there is one thing all of its millions cannot buy
It took 40 years but Eric Dickerson has come full circle as the face of paying college players, the good, the stupid, the necessary, the inevitable, and the long over due.
The former SMU running back who unfairly became the face of the football program’s identity with cheating NCAA rules and its death penalty is now the image of a man who was given the shaft by a system that for years didn’t allow for just compensation to athletes.
Dickerson, never one to run from his opinion, has embraced all parts of his alma mater’s success this fall, and is reveling in the Mustangs’ national relevance.
“Moses came out of the desert quicker than we’ve had a good football team. I’ve been waiting a long time for this. I am so excited about it. So excited. It’s a sense of pride,” Dickerson said. “We won the ACC in our first year in it; I never, ever would have dreamed this. I have never worn so much SMU stuff in my life, even when I played.”
The Pro Football Hall of Famer was the featured guest at an NIL related event at SMU on Tuesday afternoon, and the subject of SMU’s immediate future came up. Specifically he believes the Mustangs can win a national title now.
“I think they can go as far as they want,” he said. “I think they can play with anybody. I really do.”
Dickerson would say otherwise. About 10 years ago he said the program should be shut down.
It would appear that those who run the college football playoff invitational don’t think alike with Mr. Dickerson and his fellow Mustangs.
A few hours after Eric spoke his mind and charmed those attending the “Influxer” event on SMU’s campus, the college football playoff committee released their second-to-final rankings. SMU (11-1) is currently No. 8, and would be the No. 3 seed with a first-round bye in the 12-team bracket.
But ... Alabama.
SMU, welcome to the 2-room world of power college football. All of your money doesn’t buy you into the big room of college football that requires a magnetic key card, a password that expires every 12 hours, VPN, and written letters of recommendations from at least two Biblical figures.
Ask your friends at TCU about this.
Just because you’re good, and can “play with anybody” means nothing to the committee. If you’re not in TheBigSEC10, you’re basically still in the AAC rather the ACC. Exceptions can be granted, on a case-by-case basis, to Miami, Clemson and Florida State.
Brand bias, which is funded by major college football’s broadcast partners, primarily ESPN, runs this sport like no other. Until people stop watching in large numbers, there is no reason to change.
SMU has one way to this invitational: Beat Clemson in the ACC title game on Saturday night in Charlotte.
An SMU loss will kick the Mustangs out of the invitational, and make the ACC a one-bid league. It’s wrong on multiple levels, and, unless the President, or members of the United States senate intervene, this is not changing.
The Big 12 is in the same spot, and it led to a fun exchange on Twitter between SMU athletic director Rick Hart and Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard about their respective team’s resumes.
SMU is good, and earned a spot in this bracket regardless of the outcome of its next game.
“They have the athletes, the have the defensive line, they have the quarterback, they have the running game,” Dickerson said. “They have nine kids transfer here from the University of Miami.”
Other than a 3-point loss to a good BYU team in Dallas on Sept. 6, the Mustangs handled everyone on their schedule. This includes an overtime win at Duke, in one of those games that should have been an upset but SMU narrowly avoided.
As either the first, or second, team in the ACC, SMU has played its way into this tournament.
If Alabama’s jersey said, “Arkansas,” or “Missouri,” it would not be on track to earn an at-large bid to the fake playoff. This is a legacy ranking, or football nepotism. It is, however, consistent with the people who put this ranking together by using whatever anecdote, or statistic, to justify what they are really doing, which is going with their gut.
SMU coach Rhett Lashlee, who a few weeks ago publicly started the process to lobby for not only his team but his league, has now embraced a different tact: Just win. If SMU wins on Saturday, there is no argument or debate. SMU is in, and the committee’s decision about the Mustangs doesn’t exist.
The argument may be about Clemson or Miami, but it won’t be about SMU. The Mustangs will have won the ACC title in its first season as a conference member.
“We are on the rise and that’s what puts a smile on my face,” Dickerson said.
Nothing should erase that smile from Dickerson’s face, or any other SMU player, coach, administrator, fan or alum. But if they don’t defeat Clemson, the Mustangs will not be invited to the fake playoff.
It’s dumb. It’s not right. But that’s what you get when a committee makes a decision.
This story was originally published December 4, 2024 at 1:36 PM.
