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ACC pushes for Miami to make College Football Playoff after BYU loses Big 12 championship

Barkley-Truaxby: Barkley Truax2 hours agoBarkleyTruax

No. 11 BYU is no longer in contention to make the College Football Playoff after losing to Texas Tech by 31 points in the Big 12 Championship game on Saturday. This bodes well for the Miami Hurricanes, who are currently ranked 12th in the CFP rankings.

Following the Cougars’ 34-3 loss, the ACC’s football account on X sent a not-so-subtle message to the College Football Playoff committee on social media. They advocated for the ‘Canes to make the final field of 12, telling the CFP, “your move.”

The biggest question over Miami’s playoff race remains the head-to-head contest against Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are currently ranked 10th, while Miami is 12th despite the ‘Canes owning a victory over the Irish. Miami defeated Notre Dame 27-24 during the season opener on Aug. 31.

Notre Dame made headlines for losing its first two games of the season against Miami first, and then to Texas A&M, two teams in the CFP conversation. Notably, the Irish went on to win its last 10 games of the season. That included wins over ranked USC and Pitt teams.

For Miami, the ‘Canes began the season 5-0 before finishing the back-half of their schedule 5-2. Those pair of losses could be damning for Miami, as they lost to an unranked Louisville team at home and in overtime vs. SMU on the road over a three-week span. They’ve also won four-straight games, all of which have been won by multiple scores.

Despite what’s happened since, the ‘Canes are using the head-to-head victory to lead their argument to the committee. After beating Pitt during the regular season finale, head coach Mario Cristobal hammered this point home while being interviewed on the field.

“The best part about football? You get to settle it on the field where head-to-head is always the number one criteria regarding anything athletics and football,” Cristobal said.

On the other hand, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has argued that there aren’t 12 teams playing better than his squad right now. He expects the playoff committee to put the 12 best teams in the country in the final playoff field.

Whether that final at-large bid goes to Notre Dame or Miami remains to be seen, but the ACC has sent its message to the CFP decision-makers. We’ll find out who is in and who is out of the field when the playoff bracket is revealed on ESPN on Sunday at Noon ET.