ACC ‘shocked and disappointed’ that Alabama is ahead of Miami in latest CFP bracket rankings | News, results, highlights, statistics and rumors

Miami’s hopes of an undefeated season evaporated in recent weeks after the Hurricanes lost to Georgia Tech and Syracuse, but they were still believed to be able to find their way into the 12-team College Football Playoff.

When the rankings were announced Tuesday, Miami missed out on the 11th spot, which instead went to Alabama. Now the Hurricanes will likely miss the GFP unless the committee sees something this week that changes its mind.

The decision to pick the Crimson Tide over Miami left ACC commissioner Jim Phillips “incredibly shocked and disappointed,” he said in a statement, according to ESPN. Phillips also said the Hurricanes “absolutely deserved better from the committee.”

“As we look at the final rankings, we hope the committee will reconsider and put a deserving Miami in the running,” Phillips said.

If the rankings are finalized, the ACC will have only one representative in the CFP: the winner of the conference championship between SMU and Clemson. Currently, the SEC and Big Ten each have four teams in the playoffs.

Miami was a clear favorite to make the College Football Playoff until its loss to Georgia Tech on November 9th. This loss hurt their chances, but making the 12-man field was still very realistic. Saturday’s loss to Syracuse meant the Hurricanes would need a lot of mercy from the committee.

Barring any major changes, Alabama will be the only team with three losses. The Crimson Tide are coming off losses to No. 1 Vanderbilt. 7 Tennessee and Oklahoma. The 24-3 loss to the Sooners two weeks ago is a particularly bad blot on their resume.

One could argue that Alabama’s wins make up for its losses, as the Tide have wins over No. 5 Georgia, No. 14 South Carolina, No. 19 Missouri, LSU and more, which was likely the committee’s rationale for their ranking.

Still, it’s likely difficult for Miami players, staff and fans to understand the committee’s thinking.