Mario Cristobal takes victory lap on ‘head-to-head’ debate after win over Texas A&M
By David Wasson
Published:
Perhaps the most pivotal facet of Miami’s inclusion into the 2025-26 College Football Playoff ended up being the Hurricanes’ 27-24 victory over Notre Dame in both teams’ season openers back on Aug. 31. That result was one of the key factors the CFP selection committee used to issue Miami the No. 10 seed in the 12-team bracket and leave Notre Dame on the outside looking in.
In the 111 days between the Hurricanes-Irish clash and Miami’s CFP first-round matchup against Texas A&M, Canes coach Mario Cristobal continued to point out that head-to-head results should matter – a point he made again Saturday after Miami upended the Aggies 10-3 to advance to the CFP quarterfinals.
“Irregardless of what the result was today, (the CFP selection committee) made the right decision,” Cristobal said to reporters at Kyle Field after edging No. 7 seed Texas A&M. “Last year, we had to go to court, I felt, because we had a case and a lot of other teams did – because it was fuzzy and muddy.
“This year, there wasn’t anything fuzzy about it. We had common opponents with another great football team that I am sure would be great in the playoffs, and we did better against the common opponents, and we won the head-to-head. God forbid we should ever get away from the meaning of head-to-head. … Let us never, ever devalue the importance of head-to-head competition.”
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
