"SMU played a tougher schedule than Liberty, which gets the New Year’s six bowl instead. Just the same, sometimes these things have a way of working themselves out. For example, while the Mustangs draw a winnable game against Boston College, Liberty gets a date with Oregon. Ask TCU how long it took before the excitement of making the national title game wore off."
https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/smu-mustangs/2023/12/04/sherrington-did-smu-get-robbed-by-cfp-committee-absolutely/