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Jim Phillips, ACC commissioner, calls on CFP committee to ‘reconsider’ Miami’s ranking
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Jim Phillips has issued a statement following the release of the latest College Football Playoff rankings.
Phillips, the ACC commissioner, is not pleased that Miami is currently on the outside-looking-in of the CFP bracket with 1 week to go before the final rankings reveal.
“Miami has more wins and fewer losses than the team directly ahead of them and a dominant victory over an SEC team whose late-season surge includes a win over No. 13 Ole Miss,” Phillips wrote in-part, referring to Miami’s early-season win over Florida. “Moreover, a team with 2 losses by a combined 9 points — to a ranked Syracuse team and a Georgia Tech team that just took No. 5 Georgia to 8 overtimes — Miami absolute deserves better from the committee.
“As we look ahead to the final rankings, we hope the committee will reconsider and put a deserving Miami in the field. We will continue to look forward to this weekend, when Clemson and SMU have an opportunity to earn an ACC Championship and represent the conference in the CFP.”
As it stands, Miami is currently the first team out of the projected 12-team field. The Hurricanes were jumped by 9-3 Alabama following their shocking loss to Syracuse over the weekend. Miami held a 21-0 lead over the Orange, but allowed Syracuse to come back in the second half.
CFP selection committee chair Warde Manuel said Tuesday night that the committee will not adjust the rankings of teams who are idle on conference championship Saturday, so it seems highly unlikely that Phillips’ statement will have an impact on the final rankings.
Despite Miami being on the outskirts of the projected bracket, the ACC could still get 2 teams into the field depending on what happens in Saturday’s conference championship game matchup between SMU and Clemson.
The CFP committee will unveil the official bracket on Sunday.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
