Miami AD takes shots at Alabama after College Football Playoff rankings revealed

Miami athletic director Dan Radakovich didn’t waste much time voicing his anger over the College Football Playoff selection committee’s decision to place Alabama ahead of the Hurricanes in the second-to-last rankings.

This decision means Miami is out of the standings in the current College Football Playoff projection and unlikely to get back in unless there is chaos during championship week.

“Really??” Radakovich said in an X post after the rankings went online.

“….what puts Bama in last place ahead of Miami is that Miami is 1-2 in its last three games (by an average of 4.5 points against a ranked Syracuse and GT team, which UGA just won). 8OT). Bama went 2-1 (went 5-7 against Auburn, was destroyed by OU and beat FCS Mercer).”

Miami went 1-2 in its last three games, losing to Georgia Tech, winning against Wake Forest and falling to Syracuse in the regular season finale.

That loss knocked Miami out of the ACC Championship Game, a result that could prove fatal to its chances in the College Football Playoff as the committee appears to favor its SEC counterpart.

Alabama went 2-1 in that stretch, beating Auburn in the Iron Bowl and Mercer and failing to score a touchdown, amounting to a surprising 24-3 road loss to unranked Oklahoma.

College Football Playoff Selection Committee Chairman Warde Manuel offered an explanation for why he and his colleagues placed Miami behind Alabama in the new rankings.

And it had to do with the Crimson Tide’s performance against top-25 teams and opponents with a winning record.

“When we evaluated both teams and looked at their rankings, it came down to the fact that we obviously have a high opinion of both teams,” Manuel said of the decision.

“One is at 11. One is at 12. But what it ultimately came down to is that Alabama is 3-1 against current top-25 teams and Miami is 0-1. Alabama is 6-1 against teams over .500 and Miami is 4-2.”

Manuel added: “Both had some defeats that did not live up to their expectations in these games. But in the last three games, Miami has lost twice.”

And since they failed to qualify for their conference championships, neither Alabama nor Miami are likely to give up their respective positions relative to each other.

That means Miami, not Alabama, will have to hope for some upsets during championship week, a situation the school’s athletic director isn’t comfortable with.

More… The latest College Football Playoff projections

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