Miami Hurricanes Ranked No. 12 in CFP Rankings, Likely to Miss Playoffs

(Photo courtesy of The Associated Press)

The Miami Hurricanes' playoff aspirations took a significant hit on Tuesday night as they were ranked No. 12 in the penultimate College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings. 

After a disappointing loss to Syracuse, Miami finds itself on the outside looking in, with the selection committee signaling a slim likelihood of their postseason inclusion.

Alabama (9-3) currently holds the prospective last spot in the playoff bracket, coming in above Miami at No. 11.

Although Miami boasts a better record at 10-2 compared to Alabama, the committee valued Alabama’s strength of schedule and performance against top teams.

College Football Playoff Committee Chairman Warde Manuel explained that the ranking decision came down to a comprehensive evaluation of Miami and Alabama’s records. 

“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 said during Tuesday night’s ESPN broadcast. “For us, in evaluating their body of work, we felt that Alabama got the edge over Miami.”

Mario Cristobal, Miami’s head coach, had different thoughts about the current playoff rankings, saying to “go right to the facts.”

“We won 10 games this year and not many teams have,” Cristobal said in his weekly appearance on WQAM. “And in our losses, those losses came down to one possession. That’s a very different resume than the 9-3 teams.”

Manuel added that the rankings for teams not competing in conference championship games, like Miami and Alabama, are unlikely to change before the final playoff reveal.

Even if other teams stumble during championship weekend, Miami's ranking as the first team out indicates that any change would likely still favor Alabama due to its superior metrics against high-quality opponents.

“We evaluated both teams and looked at how they rank - obviously we think highly of both teams; 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,” said Manuel. “Alabama is 6-1 against teams above .500 and Miami is 4-2.”

Despite their bleak playoff chances, Miami concluded their best regular season in seven years, achieving a 10-win season for just the second time since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2004.

The Miami Hurricanes will now await their bowl game matchup, which will be announced following the playoff bracket release.

The official CFP playoff bracket will be announced during an ESPN selection show on Sunday, Dec. 8. The show begins at 12 p.m. ET.

Here is the complete College Football Playoff ranking:

1. Oregon

2. Texas

3. Penn State

4. Notre Dame

5. Georgia

6. Ohio State

7. Tennessee

8. SMU

9. Indiana

10. Boise State

11. Alabama

12. Miami

13. Ole Miss

14. South Carolina

15. Arizona State

16. Iowa State

17. Clemson

18. BYU

19. Missouri

20. UNLV

21. Illinois

22. Syracuse

23. Colorado

24. Army

25. Memphis