Cargreen

Miami’s hopes for an undefeated season crumbled in recent weeks after the Hurricanes lost to Georgia Tech and Syracuse, but there was still belief that they could make their way to the twelve-team College Football Playoff.

When the rankings were released Tuesday, Miami missed out on the No. 11 spot, which went to Alabama instead. Now the Hurricanes will likely miss the CFP unless the committee sees something that changes their minds this week.

The decision to rank the Crimson Tide over Miami left ACC commissioner Jim Phillips “incredibly shocked and disappointed,” he said in a statement. ESPN. Phillips also said the Hurricanes “definitely deserve better from the committee.”

“As we look ahead to the final rankings, we hope the committee will reconsider its position and field a deserving Miami,” Phillips said.

If the rankings hold, the ACC will have just one representative in the CFP: the winner of the conference championship between SMU and Clemson. As it stands now, the SEC and Big Ten each have four teams in the Playoff.

Miami was a clear favorite to reach the College Football Playoff until its Nov. 9 loss to Georgia Tech. That loss hurt their chances, but making the field of twelve teams was still very realistic. Saturday’s loss to Syracuse meant the Hurricanes needed a lot of mercy from the committee.

Alabama, barring any major changes, will be the only three-loss team to make the field. The Crimson Tide has losses to Vanderbilt, No. 7 Tennessee and Oklahoma. The 24-3 loss to the Sooners two weeks ago is a particularly bad blemish on their resume.

You could argue that Alabama’s wins make up for its losses, as the Tide is coming off wins over No. 5 Georgia, No. 14 South Carolina, No. 19 Missouri, LSU and more, which was likely the committee’s reasoning for their placement .

Still, it’s likely difficult for Miami players, staff and fans to understand the committee’s thinking.