Warde Manuel had a number of key topics to address Tuesday night, including the separation between a pair of undefeated programs on first College Football Playoff rankings of the season.

The initial version of rankings for the 2024 season were released on Tuesday evening in an event indeed included some controversy. Manuel was questioned on as to why Miami was ranked above BYU.

The Hurricanes, despite have one less top-20 victory than the Cougars do, were ranked above BYU in the reveal. Miami sat at No. 4 overall, while BYU well off the pace at No. 9.

That was just on of many discrepancies that were to be had with the release.

“Well, I think both teams are obviously very good, and when we looked at how Miami has played particularly their offensive prowess, they were impressive in their win against Louisville, and they really had a dominating show at the beginning of the year against Florida, came back against Cal in a very late-night contest for Miami,” Manuel said.

He commended BYU at the same time he gave praise to Miami. Manuel says it came down more to an “eye test” than anything else:

“BYU, as well, is very strong. Impressive wins against SMU No. 13 and No. 19 Kansas in a dominating fashion,” he said. “It really came down to more of an eye test as it related to looking at both teams, and the committee as we ranked them saw them in that fashion, and it came out in that order.”

It will be interesting to see how things progress for both teams that look to be firmly in the CFP race as the season winds down, but one thing that definitely may be working in Miami’s favor is the fact it has quarterback Cam Ward, largely considered at this point to be the best quarterback in college football, at the helm.

Miami will continue its season with a Saturday matchup against Georgia Tech at noon ET.

Crissy Froyd

Crissy covers SEC football news for Saturday Down South.