Desmond Howard claims Miami's win over Notre Dame 'not the end-all, be-all' in College Football Playoff debate

Desmond Howard has heard all the arguments surrounding the controversial College Football Playoff debate involving No. 10 Notre Dame and No. 12 Miami, which is currently on the Playoff bubble behind the same Fighting Irish squad it beat 27-24 in Week 1. And, as a Miami resident, the ESPN College GameDay analyst has mostly gotten it from the Hurricanes’ side of things.

That said, with both teams idle entering Championship Weekend, Howard delivered a hard truth to his neighboring Miami fans during a Friday morning hit on ESPN’s First Take. Ultimately, Howard doesn’t believe the Hurricanes’ early-season victory over Notre Dame should be the “end-all, be-all” if and when the CFP selection committee is deciding on the final at-large spot in this year’s 12-team Playoff field.

“I live in Miami, so I get that all the time, everywhere I go, you have people lobbying for the ‘Canes. And their punchline is: head-to-head has to matter, because, obviously, Miami beat Notre Dame three months ago in Hard Rock Stadium,” Howard said Friday morning on First Take. “And I think it does matter, but it’s a data point. It’s not the end-all, be-all, so to speak. I understand both sides when you look at Notre Dame. (But) if you ask most (college football) analysts today who they think is the better team on the football field, I believe most of them would say Notre Dame.

“And when you look at the head-to-head, how do you leave Miami out? Especially if those two are right next to each other (on Selection Sunday) and you think that’s the data point that should flip Miami and put them over Notre Dame?” Howard concluded. “… But (at least) today, I think that (most) people think that Notre Dame is a better team than Miami.”

EJ Manuel makes case that Miami’s best path to CFP includes Duke winning ACC title

Turns out the College Football Playoff‘s doomsday scenario could be exactly what idle No. 12 Miami needs to make the 12-team field this season, at least according to ESPN analyst EJ Manuel. The former Florida State quarterback suggested the Hurricanes’ best chances of making this year’s Playoff likely involve unranked Duke beating No. 17 Virginia in Saturday night’s ACC Championship Game in Charlotte.

Ever since a five-loss Duke won the ACC tiebreaker to advance to this season’s conference title game by virtue of Cal‘s stunning 38-35 upset victory over SMU last Saturday, college football pundits have debated what could happen if the Blue Devils upset the Cavaliers (10-2, 7-1 ACC) in Charlotte.

Would the CFP selection committee elevate the ACC champion Blue Devils (7-5, 6-2 ACC) into the 12-team field? Or would that just open the door for two Group of Six champions to make this year’s Playoff?

Manuel, a former first-round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft out of FSU, believes the latter is far more likely. But he went on to boldly claim a Duke victory would allow the CFP committee to elevate the ACC’s highest-ranked team — currently No. 12 Miami (10-2, 6-2 ACC) — into its 12-team field as an at-large.

“I think two things could happen here. You could have an opportunity where two of the G6 (Group of Six) teams get in, like a Tulane or North Texas, depending on who wins the American, and JMU if they win the Sun Belt,” Manuel said on Wednesday afternoon’s SportsCenter. “The other thing you could see is Miami leapfrogging into the Playoff from the ACC. Now, this is a bit different because if Virginia wins, they’re in. But if Duke wins (the ACC title) as a five-loss team, I can’t see a world where (the Playoff committee) would then put Duke into the CFP. I would say, ‘Hey, committee, make the better decision and put in a team that certainly could go on and play well in the CFP.’ That should also get Miami into the Playoff, so I’m assuming most Hurricane fans are rooting for Duke this weekend.”