Mario Cristobal Explains Why Miami is 'the Best and Most Deserving Team' to Make the CFP
In this story:
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — All eyes are on the Miami Hurricanes as they have another year of successful recruiting.
That was the main topic of conversation for the Canes and head coach Mario Cristobal during his press conference, but for a second, he spoke about UM's chances at the College Football Playoff.
Cristobal knows that this team should be in the playoff and also knows that it could be them over Notre Dame.
"We are very realistic and let's call it what it is: in the history of the CFP, there has never been a situation where two Power Four teams with the same record and a head-to-head, never has the loser advanced and the winner been kept behind," Crisotbal said. "When you look at the most important factor and the reality of all competitive sports is that head-to-head that determines a winner and a loser. Miami did a great job of handling the game control and settling it on the field in a fashion where I could rattle off so many statistics.
"When you look at what we did that game, like holding a Heisman candidate to 30 yards and having a dominant performance up front that relegated a powerful and talented offensive line to their worst grades that they have ever had. You look at common opponents on top of the head-to-head, and we were more convincing in three of the four common opponents that we had."
Cristobal did one thing that everyone fails to mention. The Fighting Irish and the Canes have very similar resumes, so the comparison is straightforward. He also knows that the schedule that the Canes faced should favor them, thanks to the conference.
"Not many people talk about our out-of-conference schedule," Cristobal said. "Who in the country wanted to play our out-of-conference schedule when it came out? Notre Dame, Florida, and USF. They were all ranked at some point. We went undefeated through that schedule.
"We are playing our best football for the past month. Margin of victory is 28 points. Every metric is top ten. The word totality keeps coming up. I think of what goes into a resume. We have won ten games. We are being compared to Notre Dame in many different forms and fashions, but the totality of our resume is as strong as anybody else.
"After their first two losses, their resume got stronger, but when you break it down in those ten games, two of them were against Group of Five opponents and six of the other games were against defenses that were ranked 105 and below. I think when you start looking at the true facts surrounding a resume and how it is built, I think it will all be taken into account. What is fair and what is the reality is that we are the best and most deserving team."
Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University and is the site lead for the Miami Hurricanes on SI. He can be reached at Twitter @Justice_News5.
Follow all social media platforms to stay up to date with everything Miami Hurricanes-related: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and BlueSky.
Read More Miami Hurricanes News:
Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.