ACC commish hopes CFP committee reconsiders 'deserving' Miami
ACC commissioner Jim Phillips says he was "incredibly shocked and disappointed" that Miami fell out of the College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday and hopes the committee reconsiders ahead of Selection Sunday.
Miami lost its projected playoff spot after falling to No. 12 in the rankings, while Alabama leapfrogged the Hurricanes and sits at No. 11.
"Miami has more wins and fewer losses than the team directly ahead of them and a dominant victory over an SEC team whose late-season surge includes a win over No. 13 Ole Miss," Phillips said in a statement. "Moreover, with two losses by a combined nine points - to a ranked Syracuse team and a Georgia Tech team that just took No. 5 Georgia to eight overtimes - Miami absolutely deserves better from the Committee."
CFP chair Warde Manuel said the reasoning for putting the 9-3 Crimson Tide ahead of the 10-2 Hurricanes was that the former beat better opponents. He cited Alabama's 3-1 record against current top-25 teams and its 6-1 mark versus programs above. 500.
Miami is 0-1 versus current top-25 teams and 4-2 against programs with a winning record. The Hurricanes also lost two of their last three games, including a 42-38 defeat to Syracuse on Saturday.
Manuel stated that teams not playing this weekend, such as Miami, will not see its rankings change Sunday. However, Phillips hopes the CFP committee changes its mind for a "deserving" Miami squad led by Mario Cristobal.
"As we look ahead to the final rankings, we hope the committee will reconsider and put a deserving Miami in the field," Phillips added. "We will continue to look forward to this weekend, when Clemson and SMU have an opportunity to earn an ACC championship and represent the conference in the CFP."
The Hurricanes started the season 9-0 before a three-game slide that included losses to Georgia Tech and Syracuse. Alabama's last three games included victories over Mercer and a 5-7 Auburn team, sandwiched between a 24-3 loss to unranked Oklahoma.