Alabama’s potential inclusion opened the door for a lot of claims about favoritism toward the Crimson Tide, but the consensus feeling that the SEC is superior to the ACC always risked hurting Miami. Ward’s case is likely to fall on deaf ears.

Miami coach Mario Cristobal stated his College Football Playoff case, imploring the selection committee to “go to the facts” when deciding if the Hurricanes deserve an at-large berth into the 12-team field.