Tuesday’s launch of the College Football Playoff Rankings, the final installment main as much as the finale Sunday, was not favorable to the Miami Hurricanes. And their convention took concern with it.
Indeed, Alabama snuck into the coveted No. 11 spot, as introduced on ESPN’s rankings launch present, whereas Miami fell to No. 12. That means, barring an upset in Saturday’s ACC championship sport between Clemson and SMU, Alabama could be headed again to the CFP for the ninth time prior to now 11 seasons — regardless of shedding 3 times underneath first-year coach Kalen DeBoer — whereas the Hurricanes get not noted of the primary 12-team match.
In an announcement, launched after the present concluded, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips mentioned the league was “extremely shocked and disenchanted” that Miami fell six spots to No. 12 and added coach Mario Cristobal’s crew “completely deserves higher from the committee.”
“As we sit up for the ultimate rankings,” he added, “we hope the committee will rethink and put a deserving Miami within the discipline.”
Miami suffered its second defeat of the season Saturday, shedding 42-38 at Syracuse. It was its second loss in three video games, which all got here in convention play. The less-than-stellar end meant Miami didn’t qualify for the ACC title sport, which makes issues harder for a crew that opened 9-0.
Cristobal spoke on a South Florida radio station earlier Tuesday, lengthy earlier than the rankings have been launched. He, on the time, implored the choice committee to “go to the information” when deciding whether or not the Hurricanes (10-2, 6-2 ACC).
“We gained 10 video games this 12 months, and never many groups have,” Cristobal mentioned on WQAM, the Hurricanes’ flagship station. “And in our losses, these losses got here down to at least one possession. That’s a really totally different resume than the 9-3 groups.'”
Part of Miami’s argument for a CFP berth is that the Hurricanes gained simply at Florida to open the season, that they lead the nation in yards and factors per sport, that Heisman Trophy hopeful quarterback Cam Ward led the nation with 36 landing passes, that they went unbeaten at residence and their two losses — at Georgia Tech and to the Orange — have been by a mixed 9 factors.
“The awards ought to go to the groups which might be truly successful the video games, not those which might be politicking themselves out of losses,” Cristobal mentioned.
The arguments towards Miami embody that the Hurricanes did not face any groups that have been ranked in that specific week and that the protection allowed a minimum of 31 factors 5 instances within the ultimate eight video games.
Yet even with the defensive struggles, the Hurricanes nonetheless completed the common season as one in every of seven groups nationally ranked within the prime 25 in each yards per sport and yards allowed per sport, together with Indiana, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, Tennessee and Texas.
“Go to the information,” Cristobal mentioned. “Award soccer groups for successful soccer video games.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
