Mario Cristobal gives lengthy response to why Hurricanes should be in playoffs
Miami Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal emphatically believes that UM should be in the College Football Playoff.
So much so that he rattled off a nearly 550-word explanation Wednesday as to why the Hurricanes should be in the 12-team field, including bringing up the narrative once again that UM’s head-to-head win against Notre Dame — a team with an identical 10-2 record also competing for an at-large spot — should be a deciding factor. As of the latest ranking on Tuesday, UM ranked 12th and is the second team out of the field. Notre Dame is 10th and the last team in. The five highest-ranked conference champions and the next seven highest-ranked teams make the field.
The final ranking, which will formally determine the 12-team field, will be revealed noon Sunday.
Cristobal’s full response is below:
“Absolutely [the Hurricanes should be in the playoffs], and for the right reasons. We’re very realistic. I mean, let’s call it what it is. In the history of the CFP, there’s never been a situation where two Power 4 [or] Power 5 teams with the same record that had a head-to-head — never has the loser advanced and the winner been kept behind. When you look at the reality, the most important thing in all the sports — and anything competitive in the world — is head-to-head in terms of a winner and loser.
“Miami did a great job of game control in settling that on the field in a fashion where, I mean, I can run could run off so many statistics. I know it’s not for a setting like this, but when you look at what we did that game, holding a Heisman candidate [in running back Jeremiyah Love] to 30 [rushing] yards, having such a dominant performance up front that relegated a very powerful and very talented offensive line to their worst rates that they’ve ever had. And you look at common opponents on top of that, head-to-head, where we were much more convincing in three of the four common opponents that we had [in wins over NC State, Pittsburgh and Stanford], I think it very clearly speaks for what we had done and the totality of our resume.
“I think also, when you look at that, you talk about common components, not many people talk about our out-of-conference schedule. I mean, who in the country wanted to play our out-of-conference schedule when it came out right? It was Notre Dame, Florida, USF, which were all at some point in time, ranked in the top 10 or top 20. And we went undefeated through that schedule.
“We’re playing our best football, have been playing our best football for the past month. Margin of victory is 28 points [per game]. Every metric is top one, two, five, 10, you name it. And I know that word totality keeps coming up. And I think of what goes into a resume, right? We won 10 games, just like — we’re being compared to, obviously, Notre Dame in a lot of different forms and fashions, but the totality of our resume got just as strong or stronger than anybody else. After their first two losses, right, their resume got stronger. But when you break it down, those 10 games, two were against Group of 5 opponents [Navy and Boise State]. And of the other eight games, six of those games were against defenses that were ranked 105 [or worse], 105-127, so I think when you start looking at the true facts surrounding a resume, and how a resume is actually built.
“I think all those things will be taken into account and I respectfully will always provide any and all information to whoever it is necessary so we can have a fair and honest judgment and decision on what is the reality that we’re the best and most deserving team.”
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