Miami's Case for No. 11 and a Spot in the College Football Playoff
The narrative is starting to be pushed, and No. 6 Miami might have the advantage over the other three SEC teams, which are all fighting for the No. 11 spot in the College Football Playoff.
As of now, the case is being made for the Hurricanes, Alabama, South Carolina, and Ole Miss.
However, the Hurricanes will need some help from the newest ACC member the SMU Mustangs. They will face Clemson in the ACC Championship game and every Canes fan should want the Mustangs to win that game.
If Clemson wins they would have a bid into the College Football Playoff which would knock the Mustangs down and likely make them the No. 11 seed. If Clemson loses, then the Hurricanes have an easier path to be placed in that position.
Now it comes down to resume and just how the commitee feels about each team.
For the Hurricanes, their two losses have come down to a combined 9 points to a Georgia Tech team that took Goeriga to eight overtimes and a surging Syracuse team that has the passing yards leader on their team in Kyle McCord. Each of those games came down to one or two plays that had they favored the Hurricanes would have led them to be undefeated. It's not what happened but only losing those two games by a total of nine points aids the case for the Hurricanes.
Having Cam Ward and the No. 1 offense in the country, and the potential of a Miami/Notre Dame game in the playoffs only helps their case. The history and upset ability between the two programs would generate numbers and if that is what the committee is looking at, the Hurricanes have one of the best teams to keep people interested.
If you look at the Crimson Tide, they do have a victory over Georgia but losing to Vanderbilt and being shut out by a struggling Oklahoma team should flag many concerns about the consistency of the team. Losing to Tennessee is not as made as people will make it be as it is considered a "good" loss.
South Carolina has the same argument as Miami. They have had many games not go their way because of a few plays while they also started to surge towards the end of the season with a great win over Clemson. They make a better case than Alabama compared to others in this mix. However, the Gamecocks did lose to this same inconstant Crimson Tide team. Head-to-head would favor the Tide.
Shane Beamer says South Carolina deserves to be in the College Football Playoff:
— Matt Dowell (@MattDowellTV) November 30, 2024
"We got 3 losses, I understand that. But it's hard for me to sit there and say that we're not one of the 12 best teams in the country."
Mentions strength of schedule and road wins@GamecockFB pic.twitter.com/Dw5tkRd1ux
If you want to have Ole Miss in this conversation then it's the same as Alabama. A victory against the Bulldogs and then terrible losses to Kentucky, Florida (who Miami boat raced at the beginning of the season), and an OT loss to LSU.
@CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/hTNmsbBLVf
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) December 2, 2024
It will likely come down to Miami or Alabama and who makes the best case. Will it be the usual SEC bias or will it be a change of tone within this new era of college football? All won't be known until Selection Sunday, but Miami has a good chance of making a strong argument for the race to No. 11.
Miami and Alabama's record against bowl eligible teams on the road this season 👀 pic.twitter.com/SylLggw5hw
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) December 2, 2024
