Mario Cristobal Argues Miami Deserves CFP Spot Despite Loss to Syracuse

Ryan Phillips | 14 Hours Ago

Cristobal and Miami are 10-2 on the season. / Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

Mario Cristobal is still lobbying for his team.

A few weeks ago, the Miami Hurricanes were ranked fourth in the College Football Playoff rankings and looked like a sure bet to make it. Since then they fell 28–23 to Georgia Tech on November 9, and were upset 42–38 by Syracuse on Saturday. Miami has since tumbled to No. 14 in the AP and coaches polls.

Cristobal is not daunted by his team's two losses in three games. Miami's head coach went on ESPN on Tuesday night and argued that his team should be included in the CFP bracket.

"Miami certainly has done enough to be in the playoff due to the fact that Miami has won 10 games, as opposed to some other candidates that have won nine games," Cristobal said. "Miami winning 10 is stronger than teams winning nine games."

Miami has no wins over teams that were ranked at the time they played. Cristobal responded to that by saying, "Miami has played a really good schedule this year and our conference has a winning record against the Big Ten, has a winning record against the Big XII. In our matchup against the SEC [against Florida] we won convincingly in Gainesville, Florida."

Miami's strength of schedule currently ranks 55th in the nation. The three-loss SEC candidates are South Carolina, Alabama and Ole Miss, all of whom are 9–3 with a significantly higher strength of schedule than the Hurricanes.

By losing to Syracuse, Miami lost the chance to play in the ACC championship game and further make its case for inclusion. Instead, SMU will face Clemson.

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