Iowa State and SMU athletic directors in a 'stay off my lawn' moment regarding latest rankings

Athletic directors at Iowa State and SMU are in a turf war over the latest College Football Playoff rankings, leading to a “stay off my lawn" moment on social media.

The background: SMU, at 11-1 and riding a nine-game winning streak into the Atlantic Coast Conference title game, was slotted at No. 8 in Tuesday night's latest ranking. Iowa State, meanwhile, is at 16th and playing for the title of the Big 12, which appears set to receive only one bid in the 12-team field that comes out Sunday.

Cyclones AD Jamie Pollard doesn't like that, and made his feelings clear on X, formerly known as Twitter. He pointed out that SMU hasn't played Clemson, Syracuse, Georgia Tech or Miami — four of the ACC's top seven teams — and lost at home to BYU of the Big 12.

“Looks like your lawn may be artificial,” Pollard wrote in a post directed to SMU's AD, Rick Hart.

Hart mowed down Pollard with a response of his own that started with “respect you, but bad take.”

He compared nonconference schedules — SMU's was better — and pointed out the Mustangs have trailed for only about six minutes of their last nine games.

“I could go on ... Stay off my lawn!” he posted.

Iowa State appears to be in a win-or-else mode, while SMU's fate is a little less clear.

If the Mustangs lose to No. 17 Clemson, the CFP selection committee will have to decide how much to penalize a team that made a title game, while others in contention did not. The choice could, for instance, pit SMU against Alabama, which is ranked 11th and is the last team in this week's projected bracket.

Of course, some of these differences will be settled on the field Saturday. Pollard, the Iowa State AD, conceded as much by opening his salvo to Hart with this olive branch: “Rick, beat Clemson Saturday and I will respect your ranking,” he said.

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Eddie Pells, The Associated Press