Mario Cristobal makes his case for Miami's College Football Playoff inclusion: 'We did a better job'

Miami head coach Mario Cristobal didn’t realize the recording for his appearance on Andy & Ari On3 had started Monday morning, so he hadn’t begun publicly politicking for the Hurricanes’ inclusion in the College Football Playoff field. He was expressing his true, raw emotions, not meant to be seen by the public.

Cristobal, slapping his hands together, groaned out: “Man, we have a really good team.”

Every coach in America with a team currently on the bubble is making a case for their team. Texas’ Steve Sarkisian did it before he even walked off the field from Texas’ win over Texas A&M on Friday night. Part of a coach’s job is to be an ambassador for his program.

Here’s the thing, though: CFP resumes are malleable. Everyone can sift through the data, choose the most advantageous argument and present it. Anyone can win a debate if they get to choose which facts to lean on. There are many bad-faith debates in this regard.

But Cristobal’s argument? It’s about as straightforward as possible.

Miami beat Notre Dame, fair and square and on national television for the entire world to see.

To a football coach, what else is there?

“I feel strongly about our case,” Cristobal told On3. “It’s not because we are creating narrative. We are presenting facts. We played each other. We played the same teams. And we did a better job. Now we have to respectfully present the information. I don’t want to come across a certain way, but … ”

But he’s desperate to get his message across because he can’t fathom not having an opportunity to put his team on the field in the CFP. That’s why he was slapping his hands, hoping the current injustice in the rankings doesn’t happen Sunday when the final field is revealed.

In the latest College Football Playoff Committee rankings, Notre Dame – the team Miami beat in the season-opener on Aug. 31 — ranked No. 9. Miami, with the same record, checked in at No. 12. This past weekend, Miami went up to Pittsburgh and beat the Panthers 38-7 despite the fact most people thought the Hurricanes couldn’t play well in the cold.

Notre Dame’s season is over. Miami’s season is over. Both programs have legitimate cases to make the CFP. Both are now in a holding pattern to see what the Committee will do.

The difference? Notre Dame is currently firmly in the field. The gap between the Irish and the Hurricanes happens to be the cut off, which makes it highly likely that only of those two teams will make the field. With all the information finalized and no more games to be played, will the CFP Committee change anything? Will the rankings be different on Tuesday night?

“That’s a real deal playoff team that not only qualifies for the playoff, but is built to make a legitimate run at the whole thing,” he said. “Look at Miami, top to bottom, examine the metrics, examine the wins and losses and how they were played out. We trust that when all the facts are laid out and everything is set on the table, that head-to-head will come into play. That’s what this sport has always been founded on.”

Some data favors Notre Dame. The computers love the Irish. And it has to be said that Notre Dame is, like Miami, a very good team capable of a deep run into January. In a perfect world, both teams would make the CFP and settle it on the field.

The funny thing about settling it on the field, though?

They’ve already played.

“When it comes down to things that are being compared, you always wish you had a head-to-head to evaluate,” Cristobal said. “In this case, we do.”