Mario Cristobal lays out why Miami deserves to be in College Football Playoff

Mario Cristobal laid out why Miami should be in the College Football Playoff as the Hurricanes wait for conference championship weekend to conclude.

Miami had its chance to make the ACC title game, but fell short in a shootout against Syracuse last weekend. Because of that, the Hurricanes’ fate is in the hands of the committee.

But, Cristobal wanted to lay out all of the facts as to why Miami deserves to be one of the 12 teams in the bracket.

“I want to start by saying I respect all college teams, because everybody certainly fought hard this season to put themselves in a position to be in the conversation, but Miami certainly has done enough to be in the playoffs due to the fact that Miami has won 10 games,” Cristobal began on SportsCenter. “As opposed to some other candidates that have won nine games.

“And college football, as much as parity has become a reality, as much as things have changed over the last a few years with the transfer portal and NIL, where week in and week out, you’re seeing some unbelievably competitive football games. Miami winning 10 is a stronger (argument) than teams winning nine games.”

Mario Cristobal makes Miami’s CFP case

Cristobal also defended Miami’s strength of schedule compared to the three SEC teams in play for the bubble.

“Go right to the facts,” Cristobal said. “You know, who has Miami played? Miami has played a really good schedule this year, and our conference has a winning record against the Big Ten, has a winning record against the Big 12. In our matchup against the SEC, (we) won convincingly in Gainesville, Florida, and our match up against South Florida and respect for Alabama, but they played the same team, and the outcome of the game was both teams won, but two very different.”

Cristobal hammered home that Miami’s offense stood out among the rest of the playoff contenders. That is the true difference maker in his mind.

“I would say teams showcase very different capabilities in terms of their control of the football game. So I think there’s enough comparables out there that gives you an opportunity to see what versus who. And at the same time, Miami ends the season with the number one ranked offense in the country, generational offense, while at the same time, albeit a couple of struggles the past few games, with our defense, it’s still a top 24 defense in the country. Only seven teams in the country have a top 25 offense and defense, and that should speak volumes.”