Mario Cristobal reacts to selection process for College Football Playoff

Miami was on the right side of the selection results yesterday, as the Hurricanes will be making their first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff. And, regardless of how it all played out in them getting the final at-large spot in the field, that’s something they’re obviously excited about at The ‘U.

Mario Cristobal discussed his team’s berth into the CFP during an appearance on ‘SportsCenter’ on Monday afternoon. He said they were naturally thrilled about it, especially considering there was no guarantee it was happening, as it validated what the Hurricanes did this fall.

“I mean, obviously, a ton of energy surrounding that decision. We felt confident about it, but, certainly, until it’s official, there’s always some uneasiness about it,” said Cristobal. “But, certainly, I mean, yesterday and today has been, again, a ton of energy and enthusiasm. Our guys are ready to roll and get to our preparation.”

“I would say it felt more like validation of a lot of hard work and really putting together an excellent season,” Cristobal said. “It was an awesome moment, of course a lot of energy and celebration, but a very quick shift to getting to the most important part, which is our practices and preparation.”

In the end, Miami (10-2) got its spot, despite not playing in a conference championship this past weekend, in the CFP. That’s as BYU lost the Big 12 Championship, causing the Cougars to drop and leading to that direct, side-by-side comparison between Miami and Notre Dame, who the Hurricanes beat 27-24 in the season opener back on August 31st. That, after six weeks of rankings, finally led to their inclusion in the field, as they will now be the No. 10 seed.

Again, though, this whole process by the selection committee, especially this year seemingly, was a lot, namely in his controversial debate between the Hurricanes and the Fighting Irish, as Miami had to just trust and wait this out until the rankings reveal on Sunday. But, as for changes to be made in the future, Cristobal isn’t sure of any, as it’s essentially impossible to keep everyone happy.

“Honestly, we were confident the whole time. We felt it was a matter of the facts continually being brought to the forefront. And I though the entire time that – and these are all great teams, mind you, so I would not put another team down. I wouldn’t do that. But I felt the other conversations were just angles of, I don’t know, manipulated information, or just something that was aside from, you know, the metrics by their very own metrics, their very own standards for what the CFP was looking for,” Cristobal said. “When we provided that stuff again and again and again, I think it finally just shown through.”

“It’s a tough call. I mean, I know that, every year, so many people work at it, but, at the end of the day, each year, no one is really happy with the results. And, I mean, unless something is settled on the field, it’s left up to chance, opinion, and controversy. So, I’m not sure what the answer is,” Cristobal continued. “I know that the NFL model seems to have – you know, we seem to migrate, right, more and more each year towards different parts of the NFL model. And, I know there’s not enough counter dates to be able to play an entire season like that. But, like Coach Saban used to tell us all the time, if you want to make everybody happy, don’t get into coaching football or coaching football in general. Go sell ice cream. The ice cream man makes everybody happy. The football guys and the football gods? Just, at the end, not everybody can be happy. And, I’ve been on the other side as well, so I know what it’s like.”

It had been a long month, with plenty of work left do on the field in games and off the field with debates, for Miami in hoping to end up in the CFP. Now, the Hurricanes are, and will now begin their prep to play in College Station for their first-round game on December 20th.

“I think it quickly shifted right to preparation for the opponent, because everyone recognizes the caliber of opponent that Texas A&M is,” said Cristobal.

“To go through everything we’ve gone through, work this place and work ourselves into a reality moment of one of the College Football Playoff? It was awesome. So, I’m really happy for them,” Cristobal said. “I think it, again, validates a lot of hard work, energy, time, and investment. And now, again, it’s time to get to practice and preparation to get ready for that game to come.”