What took the College Football Playoff selection committee so long to right a wrong and move Miami ahead of Notre Dame in the final rankings?
Hunter Yurachek, the chair of the committee, offered a few explanations on Sunday that, shockingly, didn’t make much sense.
It should not have taken two teams with identical records and near-identical metrics to be placed next to each other in the poll to finally take into account a head-to-head result from Week 1.
It shouldn’t have taken a rewatch — as Yuracheck noted — to convince the coaches in the selection room to have “some interesting debate” about what that game looked like.
Maybe Duke’s overtime win over Virginia, which left the ACC with the threat of not having a team in the field, was the real impetus to move the Hurricanes up to 10th in the rankings. Yurachek shot down that theory Sunday afternoon — but what did you expect him to say?
Whatever it took, what should not get lost in all this “debate” is how valuable this opportunity is for Miami and the program that Mario Cristobal is still building.
Make no mistake, this expanded postseason tournament continues to be dominated by teams from two conferences, and getting a seat at the table if you’re not from the SEC or Big Ten is really hard. Just ask Notre Dame.
This Irish team, with CJ Carr at quarterback, is arguably better than the one that played for the national championship last year, and yet Notre Dame still got left out to allow a reeling Alabama team in and protect the participants in the SEC’s prized league championship game.
There’s no debating that Notre Dame was a much better team than Alabama down the stretch of the season and would have been a bigger threat to reach this year’s title game instead of this version of the Crimson Tide. Maybe this will finally get Notre Dame to consider joining the Big Ten and get one of those VIP passes. (Though if the Irish did that, they would be subject to a hefty fine from the league office for bailing on their bowl game.)
Either way, it now falls on Texas Tech and Miami to carry the flag for the “other guys.” The good news for the Big 12 and ACC: Both the Red Raiders and Hurricanes are built for it on the lines of scrimmage. They’re both more than capable of making a run to a championship. Just ask Nick Saban.
He said as much two Saturdays ago about the Hurricanes before Miami crushed Pittsburgh on the road in chilly temperatures. Saban said the Canes would be “the most dangerous team anybody has to play because of the talent level they have.” He’s not wrong.
Nick Saban says Miami will be one of the most dangerous teams if they make the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/Lh7OSM8Ltx
— Grant Speaks (@GrantSpeaks1) November 29, 2025
Those of you unfamiliar with this Hurricanes roster should know Miami has one of the best offensive and defensive lines in the country. Miami leads the nation by a wide margin in fewest pressures allowed per dropback (15.6 percent) — Ole Miss is next at 20.6 percent. On defense, Miami ranks third in pressure rate, tops among all Playoff teams — making opposing quarterbacks uncomfortable on 40.8 percent of their dropbacks.
Cristobal’s team, anchored by soon-to-be first-round picks Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor on the edge, ranks seventh in rush defense (86.8 ypg) and 18th in pass efficiency defense with more interceptions (12) than touchdown passes allowed (11).
The Canes also feature the most exciting freshman in the country in receiver Malachi Toney, who means more to this offense than his stats (84 receptions for 970 yards and seven touchdowns) indicate. Toney lines up at quarterback and runs the wildcat, carries the ball on reverses and throws touchdown passes, too.
Miami’s 20th-ranked scoring offense is capable of having bad days, though, when the running game doesn’t get going and quarterback Carson Beck forces the ball downfield. But even when that happened against Louisville and SMU, the Hurricanes still lost by only three points in regulation and six points in overtime.
Beck closed the season by completing better than 75 percent of his passes in each of his last four games for an average of 282 yards with 11 touchdowns and only one interception. He has won big games before and is 34-5 as a starter.
“He’s probably the most misunderstood person I’ve ever been around,” Cristobal said of Beck on ESPN’s selection show on Sunday.
If Beck plays well, the Hurricanes will be a really tough out. Cristobal’s team has been getting healthier over the last few weeks. CJ Daniels made it back into the lineup and caught a touchdown pass against Pitt. Top cornerback OJ Frederique should be ready to return for the game at Texas A&M on Dec. 20. That’ll help in trying to slow down the Aggies’ triumvirate of quarterback Marcel Reed and wide receivers KC Concepcion and Mario Craver.
The Hurricanes beat the Aggies 48-33 in their last meeting in 2023. Miami lost in College Station 17-9 in Cristobal’s first year at the helm in 2022. He knew he didn’t have the kind of team he needed to beat A&M at Kyle Field then. It’s different now.
What lies ahead is an opportunity to change the narrative for Miami and the ACC. If the Hurricanes beat Texas A&M, they’ll draw the defending national champions, Ohio State, in the quarterfinals at the Cotton Bowl. After that, a potential matchup with SEC champion Georgia awaits in the semifinals.
It’s a long, difficult road to get back to Hard Rock Stadium to play for the program’s first national championship in nearly 25 years. But this is what Cristobal was brought home to do.
“It’s a great feeling,” Cristobal said of making the Playoff, “but I wasn’t shocked. We weren’t shocked.”