The 10-2 Miami Hurricanes can now begin preparing for the College Football Playoff. They were chosen as an at-large team
The Miami Hurricanes are playoff bound.
O Sunday, they were among the 12 teams selected for the College Football Playoff. They face Texas A & M in the first round.
The selection comes after the Hurricanes were forced to sweat things out. Many felt they would get left out of the field because they did not make the Atlantic Coast Conference title game. Also, the `Canes were behind the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the latest CFP rankings.
Then things went their way during Saturday's conference championship games. First, the Texas Tech Red Raiders knocked off the BYU Cougars in the Big 12. Then the Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide for the SEC title. Later, the Duke Blue Devils upset the Virginia Cavaliers to win the ACC.
The Cougars and Crimson Tide losses pushed them further down in the rankings. The Cavaliers' defeat kept them from earning the conference's automatic bid. Duke was left out of the field because of its 8-5 record.
That opened the path for the Hurricanes, who finished 10-2 and are on a four-game winning streak since losing to the SMU Mustangs. They have now positioned themselves to compete for their first national championship since 2002.
"We're playing our very best football," Cristobal said. "In fact, we're significantly better now than when we were ranked No. 2 in the country. Our defense is No. 2. Our offense is No. 8 in scoring ... We're No. 2 in turnover margin. We're hitting on all cylinders as we head into the playoffs."
After years of mediocrity, it appears coach Mario Cristobal finally has the program headed back in the right direction.
"Miami should be in the playoff," Duke coach Manny Diaz said to On3.com. "And we're fussing at rankings because the rankings are not paying attention to the head to head contests, an objective view. What is the most objective way to rate two teams? When they play. And Miami beat Notre Dame. They should be ahead of Notre Dame, with the same record."
The Indiana Hoosiers grabbed the No. 1 seed after their big victory against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Ten title game. They are set to face the winner of Alabama vs. Oklahoma in the quarterfinals.
Here's how the rest of the field looked:
No. 2 seed: Ohio State Buckeyes
No. 3 seed: Georgia Bulldogs
No. 4 seed: Texas Tech Red Raiders
No. 5 seed: Oregon Ducks
No. 6 seed: Ole Miss Rebels
No. 7 seed: Texas A & M Aggies
No. 8 seed: Oklahoma Sooners
No. 9 seed: Alabama Crimson Tide
No. 10 seed: Miami Hurricanes
No. 11 seed: Tulane Green Wave
No. 12 seed: James Madison Dukes
Shandel Richardson is the publisher of MiamiRoundtable. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com