University of Miami athletic director Dan Radakovich couldn’t hide his disappointment when he learned his Hurricanes were ranked No. 12 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday, dropping them out of the 12-team field in favor of Alabama were thrown into 11th place, which won the last general bid.

Michigan AD Warde Manuel, the chairman of the College Football Playoff selection committee, explained the reason Alabama was ranked above Miami: The Tide are 3-1 against current top-25 teams and Miami is 0-1. Warde also noted that Alabama is 6-1 and Miami is 4-2 against teams over .500.

“Really ??” Radakovich said Tuesday on Georgia Tech), which just won (Georgia) by 8OT). Bama went 2-1 (against 5-7 against Auburn, was defeated by (Oklahoma) and defeated FCS Mercer).”

Really ?? ….what puts Bama in last place ahead of Miami is that Miami is 1-2 in its last three games (by an average of 4.5 points against a ranked Syracuse and GT team, UGA just to 8OT). Bama went 2-1 (went 5-7 against Auburn, was destroyed by OU and beat FCS Mercer)

— Dan Radakovich (@DanRadakovich) December 4, 2024

Both Radakovich and football coach Mario Cristobal expressed support for the Canes’ inclusion in the 12-team field early Tuesday.

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ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips defended Miami: “We are certainly pleased that SMU has moved up in the rankings and that the committee continues to recognize the Mustangs’ incredible season, which should clearly secure them a playoff spot regardless of the outcome this weekend .” With that in mind, we are also incredibly shocked and disappointed that Miami fell six spots to 12th place.

“Miami has more wins and fewer losses than the team directly in front of them and a dominant win over an SEC team whose late-season momentum includes a win over No. 13 Ole Miss. In addition, with two losses by a total of nine points – 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.

“As we look at the final rankings, we hope the committee will reconsider and send a deserving Miami into the field. We will continue to look forward to this weekend when Clemson and SMU have the opportunity to win an ACC Championship and represent the conference in the CFP.”

Miami is now scheduled to play BYU in the Pop-Tarts Bowl on December 28th.

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The case for Miami

Miami had a good chance of finishing ahead of the Crimson Tide. Manuel and the selection committee missed the boat by ignoring the fact that Miami had suffered two losses to quality opponents. Georgia Tech finished 7-5 but handed Georgia, a playoff team and SEC finalist, eight overtimes. Syracuse is 9-3 and No. 22 in the CFP rankings.

Two of Alabama’s three losses came against Vanderbilt (6-6) and Oklahoma (6-6). The loss to the Sooners came just two weeks ago and was by 21 points. — Manny Navarro, Miami beat writer

The case against Miami

Miami’s elimination from CFP contention was a pleasant surprise after several weeks of the Canes being overrated and Manuel seemingly making it clear that the relative weakness of Miami’s profile wouldn’t count against it.

“Teams can only play the (conference) schedule they have,” Manuel said after last week’s rankings. “You can only play against the opponents you have. So we expect that we’re going to really look at these games, we’re going to look at the stats, we’re going to look at the strength of the schedule, but we’re also going to look at how the teams play against the competition that they have . From our perspective, we wouldn’t be needed if it was just about the strength of the schedule.”

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In punishing Miami, the committee went beyond the simplicity of counting loss totals, valuing good wins over “good losses” and excluding a team with a weak schedule and no ranked wins. It’s not Miami’s fault that they didn’t play Clemson and SMU this season, but it’s not Miami’s doing either. — Joe Rexrode, college sports columnist

(Photo: Al Diaz / Miami Herald / Tribune News Service via Getty Images)