Alabama over Miami? College Football Playoff chair explains new bracket, rankings

Alabama edged out Miami in the new College Football Playoff rankings and bracket projection and appears to have a line on an at-large bid. The selection committee chairman explains why it prefers the Crimson Tide over the Hurricanes right now.

Alabama appears to have a decisive edge over Miami when it comes to the College Football Playoff rankings and bracket this week. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Alabama was a big winner in the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings this week, as the SEC hopeful moved back into the No. 11 seed in the latest bracket projection as revealed by the selection committee heading into Championship Weekend.

That placement came at the expense of Miami, up to now the committee’s projected ACC champion. But after the Hurricanes’ loss to Syracuse in the regular season finale, it was Alabama that jumped the Canes and got back into the playoff picture.

College Football Playoff selection committee chairman Warde Manuel said that decision came by weighing the complete body of work from Alabama against that of Miami.

“What it came down to is, as we evaluated both teams and looked at how they rank, obviously we think highly of both teams,” Manuel said of the committee’s decision.

“One’s at 11. One’s at 12. But what it really came down to is Alabama is 3-1 against current top 25 teams and Miami is 0-1. Alabama is 6-1 against teams above .500, and Miami’s 4-2.”

Manuel added: “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.”

Manuel also suggested that Alabama will stay ahead of Miami whatever happens over Championship Week, given that neither team will play.

“Those who are not playing, we will not adjust those teams,” he said, noting that teams not playing cannot jump any teams that are also not playing.

“Any team that is not playing right now, we don’t have a data point to rearrange where we have those teams ranked. So that is set in terms of how we see them going into the final week.

“There’s nothing that’s going to change for us to evaluate them any differently than we have now. Those teams that are not playing cannot be adjusted in terms of where they are compared to other teams that are not playing.”

So that means the Crimson Tide should be locked in ahead of the Hurricanes permanently.

And would strongly suggest, if not outright confirm, that if SMU beats Clemson in the ACC Championship Game, then Alabama will receive the final at-large bid over Miami.

That makes the Hurricanes’ best chance of getting back into the College Football Playoff either one or both of Clemson and/or UNLV winning their respective games during Championship Weekend.

Doing so could potentially knock SMU and Boise State, respectively, out of the top dozen and open a path for the Hurricanes to get back in.

That’s not something the oddsmakers expect will happen in either case, but it’ll be a result that Miami fans will be hoping for as Championship Week kicks off.

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