Miami head coach Mario Cristobal isn’t interested in tiptoeing around the College Football Playoff conversation anymore. After speaking with Andy Staples earlier this week, Cristobal made his stance crystal clear: the Miami Hurricanes deserve to be ranked ahead of Notre Dame. And he believes the numbers, and the scoreboard, back him up.
Currently sitting at No. 12, Miami finds itself behind No. 9 Notre Dame, a team the Hurricanes already handled in a gritty 27–24 win back on August 31st. In Cristobal’s eyes, that should be the ultimate deciding factor. “We did a better job,” he said, emphasizing that head-to-head results should still matter in modern college football.
Notre Dame certainly has a resume worth talking about, with impressive victories over USC and Pittsburgh, but Miami’s body of work isn’t lacking either. The Hurricanes have steadily improved throughout the season, building a physical identity on both sides of the ball and proving they can win close, high-pressure games, something the CFP selection committee tends to value late in the year.
Cristobal’s public push also signals something deeper: Miami believes it’s time to rejoin the national spotlight. This isn’t just lobbying. It’s a program arguing that it has earned the right to control its own destiny heading into the final stretch.
Whether the committee agrees remains to be seen, but one thing is undeniable, Miami’s head coach has officially thrown down the gauntlet, and the playoff debate just got a lot more interesting.
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