Committee finally gets it right, Miami in playoff, Notre Dame out | D'Angelo
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The committee finally got it right.
But at what cost?
Just five days after declaring Notre Dame was more worthy than Miami, the College Football Playoff committee decided not so fast … when neither played.
While the decision is the right one, it raises so many questions: Why, after ranking Notre Dame above Miami, in some weeks several spots, does it flip in the last poll?
Both teams are 10-2 and Miami defeated Notre Dame, 27-24, at home in week one. Head-to-head matters. It should.
And it did in the end. But how can this committee justify waiting until the final ranking to do the right thing. With both teams sitting at home.
Course correction only says we screwed it up in the beginning.
If CFP chair Hunter Yurachek's explanation that head-to-head did not matter until Miami and Notre Dame were side-by-side, which they were after BYU was drilled by Texas Tech in the Big 12 title game, then the process needs to be re-evaluated.
"Once we moved Miami ahead of BYU we had that side-by-side comparison that everyone had been hungry for with Notre Dame and Miami," Yurachek said on the selection show on ESPN.
That put Miami at No. 10 and Notre Dame at No. 11, which is the only way the committee could compare the two separate from other teams?
And that revealed two teams almost equal in schedule strength, strength of record, FPI, results against common opponents.
The tie breaker, the one it should have been weeks ago, was head-to-head.
Yurachek then charged the committee to go back and watch the Aug. 31 game between the Hurricanes and Irish.
"We got some interesting debate from our coaches what that looked like," he said. "With that in mind we gave Miami the nod over Notre Dame."
Finally!
Miami comes in at No. 10 and will travel to No. 7 Texas A&M (11-1) for a first-round Dec. 20 at noon. The winner faces No. 2. Ohio State (12-1) in the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas, Dec. 31 at 7:30 p.m.
No. 9 goes to 10-3 Alabama, despite its being dominated by Georgia in the SEC championship game.
AAC champion Tulane and Sun Belt champion James Madison, the next highest ranked conference champions, occupy the 11th and 12th lines.
While the ACC was spared the embarrassment of not having a representative in the playoff, it still does not have its champion in the field.
The Hurricanes take their spot after being left out of the ACC Championship game while conference champion, 8-5 Duke, is left wondering if it will be playing in a meaningless bowl in Orlando or Jacksonville.
So while former Miami coach Manny Diaz has accomplished something no Hurricanes coach has, winning an ACC title, UM can find solace that finally it is in a playoff.
With the CFP championship to be decided Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium, the Hurricanes are looking for one more home game.
Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: College Football Playoff committee gets it right with Miami, Notre Dame
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