College Football Committee explains why it picked Alabama over UM. Canes angry
The Miami Hurricanes’ hopes of snagging a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff essentially died Tuesday night, when the selection committee slotted Alabama ahead of Miami in its penultimate rankings and indicated that won’t be changing.
Warde Manuel, the selection committee chairman, cited three reasons for Alabama being ranked 11th and UM 12th:
▪ Alabama is 3-1 against teams currently ranked in the committee’s top 25 and Miami is 0-1.
▪ UM lost two of its final three games, a five-point loss at Georgia Tech and a four-point loss at Syracuse, with a home win against Wake Forest sandwiched between those setbacks.
▪ Alabama is 6-2 against teams with winning records, while Miami is 4-2.
UM officials reacted angrily and swiftly.
“Really ??” UM athletic director Dan Radakovich said on X. “What put Bama over the top of Miami for the last spot in is that Miami went 1-2 in their last 3 games (by an average of 4.5 pts, to a ranked Syracuse and [Georgia Tech] team that just took [Georgia] to 8OT). Bama went 2-1 (to 5-7 Auburn, destroyed by [Oklahoma], and beat FCS Mercer).”
Canes coaches and top administrations retweeted numerous social media posts criticizing the committee’s decision.
UM wide receiver Xavier Restrepo said on Instagram: “[Shaking my head], don’t know how you can have less wins [than] a team and still be in,” he said of Alabama.
ACC commissioner Jim Phillips also ripped the decision, saying “we are incredibly shocked and disappointed that Miami fell six spots to No. 12. Miami has more wins and fewer losses than the teams directly ahead of them and a dominant win over an SEC team [Florida] whose late-season surge included a dominant win over No. 13 Ole Miss... We hope the committee will reconsider and put a deserving Miami in the field.”
That’s apparently not going to happen. Manuel said the rankings for teams that aren’t playing this weekend — including Miami and Alabama — are final.
Even though Miami holds the 12th spot in the rankings, the Canes would be out of the postseason because the field is guaranteed to include one of two teams rated below Miami — either No. 15 Arizona State or No. 16 Iowa State, who will meet in the Big 12 championship game on Saturday.
The Canes’ case against Alabama was based on several factors, including:
1). The fact that Miami lost only two games, while Alabama lost three.
2). The fact UM’s two losses were by a combined nine points against teams with winning records, whereas Alabama lost by 21 points to 6-6 Oklahoma and also lost to 6-6 Vanderbilt.
3). If the committee had ranked Duke or Louisville in its top 25, instead of Army and Memphis, then Miami would have been 2-1 against teams currently ranked in the CFP top 25. Manuel said UM’s 0-1 record against such teams was held against Miami, but omitting the Blue Devils and Cardinals from those rankings skewed Miami’s record.
4). If the committee had chosen to look at Alabama’s and Miami’s records against teams that were .500 or better, instead of above .500, the numbers would have been more favorable to UM. Miami is 6-2 in those games, Alabama 6-3.
It’s important to note that even if the Canes had been ranked ahead of Alabama, UM would have received a playoff spot only if SMU beats Clemson in the ACC Championship Game on Saturday night.
“It’s something we evaluate — both the wins and the losses, how teams play, where they’re playing, all those things … go into consideration as we’re debating and discussing these teams,” Manuel said of placing Alabama ahead of UM..
“Look, both of them are very good, and I understand the committee ranked Alabama one ahead of Miami. But it doesn’t diminish how we see Miami as— even with the last three weeks, they have two losses — we still think Miami is a very strong team, and it came down to a difference in their body of work as we evaluated Alabama and Miami. Not just wins, not just losses, but the totality of the season and how those teams performed.”
With only conference championship games left to play, it appears as if 11 of the 12 playoff spots are locked up already. Four teams from the Big Ten (No. 1 Oregon, No. 3 Penn State, No. 6 Ohio State and No. 9 Indiana), at least three from the Southeastern Conference (No. 2 Texas, No. 5 Georgia and No. 7 Tennessee), and No. 4 Notre Dame should be in. That’s eight.
Then there are the three other conference champions that get automatic bids — either SMU or Clemson from the ACC, Arizona State or Iowa State from the Big 12, and, presumably, Boise State or UNLV from the Mountain West Conference. That’s eleven.
That leaves one at-large spot, and that spot either will go to Alabama or possibly SMU, if the Mustangs lose to Clemson, which would get an automatic bid by winning the ACC championship game. Manuel said it’s possible that Alabama could be chosen over SMU if the Mustangs lose the ACC title game.
The playoff field and matchups will be announced on ESPN between noon and 4 p.m. on Sunday.
The full CFP top 25
No. 1 Oregon Ducks
No. 2 Texas Longhorns
No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions
No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs
No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes
No. 7 Tennessee Volunteers
No. 8 SMU Mustangs
No. 9 Indiana Hoosiers
No. 10 Boise State Broncos
No. 11 Alabama Crimson Tide
No. 12 Miami Hurricanes
No. 13 Ole Miss Rebels
No. 14 South Carolina Gamecocks
No. 15 Arizona State Sun Devils
No. 16 Iowa State Cyclones
No. 17 Clemson Tigers
No. 18 BYU Cougars
No. 19 Missouri Tigers
No. 20 UNLV Rebels
No. 21 Illinois Fighting Illini
No. 22 Syracuse Orange
No. 23 Colorado Buffaloes
No. 24 Army Black Knights
No. 25 Memphis Tigers
This story was originally published December 3, 2024 at 7:21 PM.
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