A 42-38 loss at Syracuse with a conference championship berth on the line almost certainly eliminates the Miami Hurricanes from the College Football, right?
In the wise words of the legendary Lee Corso, not so fast, my friend.
Everything about Miami dropping a must-win game spells the end of the road for its CFP hopes, or so we thought. Perhaps the Hurricanes could’ve snuck in had they taken care of business at the Carrier Dome and then promptly lost a close game in Charlotte to SMU.
But that’s not a reality they’re living in. And yet, according to ESPN’s Heather Dinich, that shouldn’t matter. The same senior college football writer who was panned for trying to place a hypothetical three-loss Georgia team in the CFP is projecting the Hurricanes to make the 12-team dance despite losses to Syracuse and Georgia Tech.
Heather Dinich projects Miami to make the playoffs.
She thinks this committee will point out Miami’s offense & close losses. pic.twitter.com/etoZeY3sFF
— NMD Grant (@NMDgrant) December 1, 2024
“This is the biggest question for the selection committee on Tuesday night, as to whether Miami is in or out,” she said Sunday. “And, in my bracket this week, I have them projected at No. 11 and still in the College Football Playoff because this selection committee likes this offense and Cam Ward. They like close losses — this was on the road.
“I just have a feeling that selection committee chair, Warde Manuel, is going to talk about those close losses, as he has with other teams. And they’ve already referenced that in the loss to Georgia Tech earlier this season when they were talking about Miami. The Canes, to me, are still in — at least for right now.”
While NFL Draft analysts like The Ringer’s Todd McShay, formerly of ESPN lore, are excited about the prospect of seeing Cam Ward and other Miami offensive stars on sports’ biggest stage against better defensive competitions, he questions the logic of rewarding a team with such fatal flaws.
From a NFL draft standpoint, I would love to see Cam Ward and fellow Canes’ offensive prospects vs. better defensive competition. But if THAT defense gets rewarded with a spot in the CFP, what is the committee doing? https://t.co/vLmRbJNlvu
— Todd McShay (@McShay13) December 1, 2024
These are the same conceivable flaws that have cost Miami losses to two conference opponents with zero chance of making the CFP themselves.
And if the committee chooses to overlook those flaws in favor of ratings that Cam Ward and Co. could draw, it might just set a troubling precedent that rewards style over substance in the playoff race.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.