DALLAS, Texas (THEHILLTOPICS)— The HillTopics reporter Baileigh Sheffield believes the Mustangs are currently underrated in the rankings and college football.

"Rhett Lashlee and his team have reason to feel frustrated after being left out of the College Football Playoff bracket as the No. 14 seed," Sheffield said.

SMU is five spots behind No. 9 Miami, the only ACC team in the field, despite the Mustangs' one loss to undefeated No. 6 BYU.

While it's true that Miami, led by Heisman contender Cam Ward, boasts the nation's top-ranked scoring, passing, and total offense, SMU isn't far behind.

The College Football Playoff (CFP) is the event that crowns the national champion in college football.

The top four conference champions will be seeded No. 1 through No. 4 and earn a first-round bye. Teams seeded No. 5 through No. 8 will host No. 9 through No. 12 in the first round.

The quarterfinals and semifinals will rotate each year among six designated bowl games.

This week's top 14 list:

1. Oregon (10-0)*

2. Ohio State (8-1)

3. Texas (8-1)*

4. Penn State (8-1)

5. Indiana (10-0)

6. BYU (9-0)*

7. Tennessee (8-1)

8. Notre Dame (8-1)

9. Miami (9-1)*

10. Alabama (7-2)

11. Ole Miss (8-2)

12. Georgia (7-2)

13. Boise State (8-1) - would earn No. 12 seed as fifth-highest ranked conference champion

14. SMU (8-1)

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