College Football Playoff chairman explains why Alabama overtook Miami in new rankings

Alabama was a big winner in the College Football Playoff’s penultimate rankings this week, as the SEC contender moved back up to No. 11 in the latest bracket projection, the selection committee announced ahead of championship weekend.

This placement was at the expense of Miami, the ACC champion previously planned by the committee. But after the Hurricanes’ loss to Syracuse in the regular season finale, it was Alabama that overtook the Canes and got back into the playoffs.

Warde Manuel, chairman of the College Football Playoff selection committee, said the decision was made by weighing all of Alabama’s work with that of Miami.

“It came down to the fact that when we evaluated both teams and where they ranked, we obviously have a high opinion of both teams,” Manuel said of the committee’s decision.

“One is at 11. One is at 12. But what it ultimately came down to is that Alabama is 3-1 against current top-25 teams and Miami is 0-1. Alabama is 6-1 against teams over .500 and Miami is 4-2.”

Manuel added: “Both had some defeats that did not live up to their expectations in these games. But in the last three games, Miami has lost twice.”

Manuel also suggested that Alabama will stay ahead of Miami no matter what happens in championship week, as neither team will be playing.

“The ones that aren’t playing, we won’t adjust,” he said, noting that teams that aren’t playing can’t skip teams that are also not playing.

“For any team that is not playing right now, we don’t have a data point to re-rank those teams. So that depends on how we see them in the last week.

“Nothing will change for us if we evaluate them differently than before. The teams that are not playing cannot be adjusted compared to other teams that are not playing.”

So that means the Crimson Tide should be consistently ahead of the hurricanes.

And I would strongly suggest, if not outright confirm, that if SMU beats Clemson in the ACC Championship Game, Alabama will receive the final overall bid ahead of Miami.

This gives the Hurricanes their best chance of getting back into the College Football Playoff if Clemson and/or UNLV win their respective games on championship weekend or both.

This could potentially push SMU and Boise State out of the top dozen, respectively, clearing the way for the Hurricanes to get back in the mix.

That’s not something the oddsmakers are expecting in either case, but it will be a result that Miami fans will be hoping for as championship week begins.

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