Mark Ingram emphatically argues for Alabama over Miami in College Football Playoff

Mark Ingram may be a little biased, but he brought the heat when discussing whether Alabama or Miami should’ve been awarded the final at-large spot in the latest College Football Playoff rankings.

It was the Crimson Tide who got in over the Hurricanes, and the former Alabama running back believes the CFP Selection Committee made the right choice. During the latest episode of The Triple Option, Ingram elaborated on why he believes the Crimson Tide’s resume is simply greater than the Hurricane’s body of work.

“Miami hasn’t played a ranked team. So, there you go,” Ingram said, defending the choice of putting Alabama in over Miami. “They haven’t played a ranked (team). They have no ranked wins. They have no ranked wins, they haven’t played a ranked team, and they lost two of their last three. … If they didn’t have Cam Ward, they’d be a .500 team, maybe less. … They have two losses, and they have two (wins) off controversial endings.

“Remember, we were watching one at the bar, at the hotel, the night before our show, with the Hail Mary. I forget who it was again. I think it was Virginia Tech. So they’ve had two endings that really saved them. So, the fact of the matter is they haven’t played a ranked team and they have no ranked wins. While Alabama has the 10th strength-of-schedule — 10th strongest record, and they’ve had three wins over current CFP Top 25 (teams). So, I think they did get that right.”

Alas, Miami had all of their goals ahead of them in Week 14, but the Hurricanes fell to Syracuse. While their losses in 2024 aren’t exactly terrible, it’s the wins that separate Alabama from them, as the Crimson Tide have a couple over some highly-ranked teams, but Mario Cristobal’s team played a lighter schedule.

Regardless, fans in Coral Gables may claim SEC bias, but Mark Ingram and many others are more than fine with Alabama potentially getting into the College Football Playoff over Miami. Time will tell if it’s the right decision, or if the Crimson Tide are left out as well after the ACC Championship Game this weekend.