When the penultimate CFP rankings are unveiled, and the Miami Hurricanes are two or three spots behind Notre Dame and not projected to reach the playoff, again, the outrage will be heard from Key West to Kendall.
But that anger will be misplaced.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementDoes 10-2 Miami have a strong case to be above 10-2 Notre Dame? Absolutely, considering its head-to-head. But this could have been avoided by not taking one of two losses (Louisville, SMU) as double-digit favorites against two teams unranked at the time and that will be unranked in the next unveiling.
And that looks worse today after SMU choked away a shot at the ACC Championship Game.
The ACC has become a laughingstock. No team from the conference deserves a spot in the playoff … just like a year ago. Although one will required to be invited … just like a year ago.
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AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThis conference now is being given mercy. Just as the AAC, Sun Belt and the other non-power conferences.
So that anger will be misplaced and directed at the committee. The real focus of the outrage should be on the Hurricanes for doing what they have done for more than two decades as a member of the ACC, and on the ACC for being completely irrelevant in the national landscape.
What we have is 10-2 Virginia playing 7-5 Duke in the championship game on Dec. 6. And yet, seeing Duke in the game while Miami sits home is as "karma" as it gets, no matter how bad a look with Miami the highest-ranked team in the conference. Miami had three more wins than Duke with a more difficult non-conference schedule.
Whatever tie-breaker that allows the only team among the five with a 6-2 ACC record to not have beaten any of the other four and still win that tie-breaker needs to take its place in the shredder next to Lane Kiffin's Ole Miss contract.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAfter Miami coach Mario Cristobal spent two years blaming his failures on his predecessor and current Duke coach Manny Diaz, and now seeing Diaz take the program at a school that views football as the appetizer to basketball season to the conference game before Cristobal … pure karma.
No matter how flawed the system that allowed this to happen.
Miami does all it could last month, but not enough
Nov 29, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Miami Hurricanes wide receiver Malachi Toney (10) celebrates with family and friends after defeating the Pittsburgh Panthers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn ImagesMiami did all it could to bounce back from its losses to Louisville and SMU, winning all four games remaining on its schedule. And winning convincingly.
The problem is the Hurricanes, who have consecutive double-digit win seasons for the first time since joining the ACC in 2004, play in the worst power conference in the country. And it is not close.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Canes' conference schedule made that even worse.
Miami's six ACC wins were against teams with a combined 18-30 record. It beat one ACC team with a winning record. While Miami should be recognized for its win against Notre Dame, it cannot be given a pass for that being its only game against a team that will be in the next edition of the CFP rankings.
And about those two losses … Miami will be the only team in the top 15 with two losses to unranked teams (assuming SMU drops out, which is a good assumption). Virginia would be the second if it cracks the top 15.
Bad losses should be as significant as big wins.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMiami will be grouped with 10-2 Notre Dame, 10-2 Alabama, 11-1 BYU, 10-2 Vanderbilt and 9-3 Texas.
Six teams for two spots.
The committee has shown Notre Dame is a lock for one. The other that appears in the best position is Alabama, which likely will be No. 10 and should not be penalized if it loses to Georgia in the SEC title game, especially since the Tide beat the Bulldogs on the road, one of the top two wins in the country this season.
But the team that should be in a favorable spot is Texas.
The Longhorns have a strong case to be the first three-loss at-large team in the playoff. Besides one of those losses being to No. 1 Ohio State, by a touchdown on the road (the Buckeyes' closest margin of victory after Texas is 18 points), they are the first team since 2019 to defeat three top 10 teams in the regular season.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTexas has played as many top 10 teams (five) in the regular season as Ohio State, Texas Tech, Notre Dame, BYU and Miami … combined.
The wins: Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt. The losses: Current No. 1 Ohio State, current No. 3 Georgia, both on the road.
The only thing keeping Texas from being ranked fifth or sixth is a loss at unranked Florida.
Here is what the CFP ranking should look like in the next unveiling:
1 Ohio State; 2 Indiana; 3 Georgia; 4 Texas A&M; 5 Texas Tech; 6 Oregon; 7 Mississippi; 8 Oklahoma; 9 Alabama; 10 Texas; 11 Miami; 12 Notre Dame. First two out: BYU, Vanderbilt.
Miami and Notre Dame would be replaced in the playoff by the next two highest-ranked conference champions.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHere is what it probably will look like:
1 Ohio State; 2 Indiana; 3 Georgia; 4 Texas A&M; 5 Texas Tech; 6 Oregon; 7 Mississippi; 8 Oklahoma; 9 Notre Dame; 10 Alabama; 11 BYU; 12 Miami. First two out: Texas, Vanderbilt.
BYU and Miami would be replaced in the playoff by the next two highest-ranked conference champions.
Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Hurricanes fans should direct playoff outrage at UM, ACC
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