Alabama is in the College Football Playoff, and SMU is out, according to Jerry Palm’s latest projections.

The CBS analyst has Kalen DeBoer’s Crimson Tide slotted as a No. 11 seed headed to play Penn State. Meanwhile, No. 8 SMU’s rally in the ACC Championship Game on Saturday fell short, and, despite how the game played out, Palm has the Mustangs on the outside looking in.

“The short answer is that after the loss, SMU’s resume looks a lot more like Miami’s than it does Alabama’s,” Palm told AL.com late Saturday night. “And we know how the committee feels about Bama vs Miami.

“It’s still a loss (for SMU). The problem was losing, not the margin.”

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Much has been made about not penalizing teams for advancing to their conference championship game. In short, a team shouldn’t fall out of CFP favor because it lost an extra game others didn’t have to play.

“Not really,” when asked if SMU’s loss coming in a title game is viewed differently than a regular-season game. “In general, teams that lose competitive games to higher ranked teams do not get punished much. Higher ranked teams losing (like SMU) and blowouts are different and you see more prominent adjustments historically speaking.”

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Palm projects Clemson as the No. 12 seed, facing No. 5 Texas, who fell in the SEC Championship Game to No. 2 Georgia earlier in the day.

Undefeated Oregon is the top seed after winning the Big Ten Championship Game over Penn State on Saturday night.

Palm wrote about the scenario of a Clemson win and what it would mean for Alabama a few days ago.

Per his story:

“The ceiling for SMU’s fall down the rankings is right above No. 12 Miami. There is no head-to-head result, but SMU would have better losses and neither team would have a win over a ranked opponent. Staying ahead of Alabama seems unlikely because with a loss to Clemson, SMU’s resume looks much more like Miami’s than it does that of the Crimson Tide. We already know how the committee feels about that comparison, so this is likely an elimination game for SMU as well.”

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.