Urban Meyer Highlights Underrated College Football Team in Playoff Race

By Cole Sullivan

Urban Meyer Highlights Underrated College Football Team in Playoff Race

The second College Football Playoff rankings were released on Tuesday night, and while there were some major shake-ups, even more drama is expected to unfold in the coming weeks.

In a surprising turn, four of the top five ranked teams are now from the Big Ten, with the No. 3 Texas Longhorns being the lone SEC representative in the top five.

Perhaps the biggest storyline is that the Georgia Bulldogs are sitting at No. 12 following their loss to Ole Miss. If the playoffs were to end today, the Bulldogs would miss out on a spot, as Boise State, the projected Mountain West champion, would receive an automatic bid. This would push Georgia, currently ranked higher, out of the playoff picture.

However, on the "Triple Option" podcast, Rob Stone asked Urban Meyer and Mark Ingram to name one team they believe is underrated. Meyer's pick? The SMU Mustangs.

"I'm jumping on that SMU train a little bit," Meyer said. "They're a balanced team, a really good team. I was a little shocked by what I saw, because SMU is a team I've never thought of that way, but they're legit."

He believes they could be a serious contender down the stretch, and when you watch the tape, they have the potential to get themselves firmly into the playoffs and perhaps even win a conference title, which more than likely, will be needed to get in.

The Mustangs find themselves in a bit of an unusual spot right now, but they still have everything ahead of them. The committee "projects" that Miami will win the ACC, which is why they are placed as the No. 4 seed in this week's playoff rankings. However, SMU currently sits at No. 1 in the ACC. SMU is 5-0 in conference play, while Miami is 6-1.

If both teams continue on their current trajectories, they could meet in the ACC Championship for an automatic bid to the College Football Playoffs and a first-round bye.

However, the loser of that game could very well be eliminated from playoff contention. With the committee seemingly valuing the Big Ten and SEC more at the moment, it could be difficult for the ACC to get two teams into the playoffs, which makes the stakes even higher for a program like SMU to truly take full advantage of every opportunity they get.

Related: Paul Finebaum Declares Top Ten College Football Team Not a 'Serious' Playoff Contender

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