Miami football head coach Mario Cristobal had a blunt message on Tuesday's unveiling of the first College Football Playoff rankings. Led by Heisman Trophy contender Cam Ward, the Hurricanes are undefeated this season and currently sit at No. 4 in the AP poll. This success is in large part due to the Miami offense, which leads the country in scoring.
While the Hurricanes control their own destiny in the ACC for an automatic bid, where they rank on Tuesday is still very significant. When asked about how much stock Miami football will put into these rankings, Cristobal gave a stern response, via Miami Hurricanes Senior Editor Christy Chirinos.
“Absolutely zero. We'll be in practice, we'll be in meetings. Will it be out there? … Yes. … But you always circle back to find a way to be 1-0 or it doesn't matter what it is next week,” said the third-year head coach in South Beach.
Miami's place in the CFP rankings is very important
Miami football ends their season with three games against unranked opponents. On the road against Georgia Tech, at home against Wake Forest, and then on the road against Syracuse. The Hurricanes are currently tied for first in the ACC with an overachieving SMU team.
Behind the Canes are Clemson and Pittsburgh, which are 5-1 and 3-1 in the conference respectively. With the top two teams advancing to the ACC championship, Miami football realistically only has one more chance at a high-quality win to pad their resume.
If Cam Ward and company are ranked on Tuesday significantly behind other conference favorites like Oregon, Georgia, and BYU, that will be an indication that there's very little the Hurricanes can do to get a seed better than No. 4 heading into the playoff. They would need there to be more chaos in the other conferences.
Additionally, a disappointing ranking could have an even worse impact, should Miami football lose a game. There are two scenarios to keep in mind here. One, if the Hurricanes lose a game during the regular season and still win the ACC. Two, if Miami loses in the ACC championship game.
In the first scenario, the Hurricanes would be in the playoff. But a regular season loss to an unranked opponent could put them in jeopardy of losing an automatic bye in the College Football Playoff to a stellar Boise State team.
In the second scenario, Miami football would be a 12-1 team looking for an at-large bid. They could be competing for that spot with a historic Indiana team, with only a loss at Ohio State. Or they could be up against a 10-2 Alabama team, with standout wins over Georgia and LSU. How Miami is compared to teams like those two now is also something to keep an eye.
Overall, the Hurricanes' ranking from the committee will indicate how much more margin for error they have going forward, how much higher they can rise in this new format, and how much more history Cam Ward can continue to make.
Follow Us
Subscribe
