The College Football Playoff rankings were released Tuesday and the Miami Hurricanes are on the outside looking in. The 10-2 ‘Canes were ranked 12th by the committee, but the eventual winner of the Big 12 Championship (either Arizona State or Iowa State) is guaranteed a spot and both teams currently rank behind Miami.
With 11 spots essentially decided, Miami was battling a trio of 3-loss SEC teams (Alabama, Ole Miss, and South Carolina) for the final spot. Ultimately, Alabama was ranked 11th and is expected to reach the CFP, leaving Miami sorely disappointed.
The season started off promising for Mario Cristobal’s team. Miami trounced Florida in the Swamp in their opening game. The next two months were filled with close calls, but the Hurricanes rattled off nine in a row to put themselves in an excellent position for a playoff spot.
Poor execution led to their first loss of the season against Georgia Tech. The ‘Canes turned the ball over on downs three times and QB Cam Ward lost a fumble on the last drive in a 28-23 defeat.
Miami got back on track the next week with a dominant win over Wake Forest and needed just one more victory to ensure a spot in the ACC title game. They traveled to Syracuse to take on the Orange and raced out to a 21-0 lead after a Mark Fletcher Jr. run and two Ward touchdowns.
Then, all hell broke loose. Syracuse went on a 35-7 run to take a lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The teams exchanged touchdowns in the final frame, and Miami’s offense had the ball with a chance to tie late. On a 4th & Goal, the Hurricanes elected to kick a field goal to cut Syracuse’s lead to four with 3:42 remaining. Miami would not see the ball again as Syracuse was able to drain the clock and pull off the upset win.
As a result, Clemson will go on to play SMU for the ACC Title game, and the ‘Canes have no chance to bolster their playoff hopes next week.
Miami couldn’t afford two slip-ups. Their quality of wins doesn’t stack up with the contending teams in the SEC. The committee indicated this as such. College Football Playoff Committee Chair Warde Manuel had this to say when asked why Alabama was placed ahead of Miami in the recent rankings:
“Alabama is 3-1 against current top-25 teams and Miami is 0-1. Alabama is 6-1 against teams above .500 and Miami is 4-2. Both have had some losses that weren’t what they wanted out of those games. But, in the last three games Miami has lost twice. For us evaluating their body of work, we felt that Alabama got the edge over Miami.”
Dropping one game to Georgia Tech or Syracuse wouldn’t have been enough to keep Miami out of the field. They would have made the ACC Title game, and regardless of the game’s result against SMU, both teams may have made it to the playoff. Win one game against an inferior opponent, and Alabama’s multiple wins against top-25 teams wouldn’t have mattered. Both games were in grasp, but the ‘Canes couldn’t convert.
Miami’s No. 1 ranked offense carried them throughout the season, but their suspect defense ultimately cost them. They couldn’t stop Georgia Tech’s potent running game, which rushed for 271 yards.
After getting out to a big lead against Syracuse, Orange QB Kyle McCord had his way with Miami’s secondary. McCord threw for 380 yards, 3 TDs, and 0 INTs as Syracuse’s offense reached the end zone in five of its last seven drives.
Ward, a potential Heisman contender, will be left out of the playoffs following one of the great seasons from a Miami QB in the program’s history. The team will have to look for a new signal caller with Ward likely entering the draft.
Cristobal has done an excellent job recruiting since returning to his alma mater, but his teams have been mistake-prone and undisciplined. This one will hurt for a while as the ‘Canes attempt to regroup in the offseason.
