One major question loomed over Sunday’s College Football Playoff selection show on ESPN: Would it be SMU or Alabama securing the final spot in the CFP’s first-ever 12-team format?
But as it turned out, you didn’t need to actually watch the selection show to find out the answer. Rather, the Action Network’s Brett McMurphy reported at 11:59 a.m. ET — one minute before ESPN’s selection show was set to begin — that the Mustangs had received the playoff’s final bid over the Crimson Tide.
Breaking: SMU is in @CFBPlayoff and Alabama is out, sources told @ActionNetworkHQ
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) December 8, 2024
McMurphy’s leak was monumental, as it is believed to be the first of its kind in the 11 years since the College Football Playoff first took effect in 2014. Making matters worse for the CFP and ESPN, SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee referenced the leak during an interview on the selection show after the bracket was revealed.
“Your production team sure did a really good job of creating a lot of drama there. …I think shortly before it was announced, I saw a tweet from Brett McMurphy, and the Vegas odds started shifting.” SMU HC Rhett Lashlee had quite the lines on ESPN’s CFP reveal show. pic.twitter.com/I17Z1ieBUO
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 8, 2024
Suffice it to say, having the biggest mystery of its bracket revealed by a former ESPN reporter before the selection show even began didn’t sit well with the College Football Playoff. Speaking to USA Today’s Matt Hayes, College Football Playoff Rich Clark admitted he was “furious” over the leak.
“I told all involved, you’ve betrayed the process,” he said.
Clark said that an investigation will occur to determine how the leak happened. According to the former Air Force defensive lineman, the only people who would have had direct knowledge that SMU had been selected over Alabama when McMurphy reported it were the 13-person selection committee, the CFP staff, and ESPN.
As far as ESPN is concerned, host Rece Davis stated on the broadcast that the only person connected to the show who knew which team had been picked was the person responsible for the graphic that went up as soon as it was announced.
Regardless of how the leak came to fruition, the College Football Playoff clearly isn’t happy and it’s hard to imagine that McMurphy’s social media victory laps have helped matters.
