With an overall record of 10-2, a Heisman candidate quarterback and the most dominant offensive season in the entire nation, one would’ve thought that the Miami Hurricanes would be a shoo-in for the college football playoffs. Especially after expanding to 12 teams, any sort of controversy on who made the playoffs was meant to be avoided this season. The College Football system needs to change, starting with the schedule and leading up to the decision-making committee for the playoffs
Cam Ward, star quarterback for the Miami Hurricanes expressed his frustration with the results.
“I really doubt they watched any tape,” Ward said.
Whether Ward was right or not is secondary, because the stats should speak for themselves. Ward passed for 4.123 yards and threw 36 touchdowns while leading the Canes. This led him to go to New York for Heisman consideration. Ward didn’t win, but he still put up one of the best seasons by a college quarterback this year.
Cam Ward may have held the offense afloat, but the rest of the team did plenty of work, to their credit. The offense mustered 45.8 points per game, leading the FBS while also putting up nearly 600 yards per game. The Hurricanes dominated their way through the season without a doubt, which is precisely why they should have made the college football playoffs over teams like Clemson and Arizona State University.
While nobody is arguing with the legitimacy of their seasons, the Hurricanes had a far better one. So why did the college football selection committee choose them instead? The committee was looking for a reason to input an SEC team. College football has a history of SEC bias and Miami losing their regular season finale put the nail in the coffin for the ACC squad.
StateoftheU summed up the snub perfectly, “A 10-2 team with the No.1 offense in America should not be ranked behind a 9-3 team with losses to a pair of 6-6 teams, including a three touchdown loss to the worst Oklahoma team in 50 years.”
What needs to change? Miami is just one of the three examples of teams perfectly deserving of a spot this year. They just didn’t play enough ranked teams. The college football playoff committee needs to assign at least two ranked teams for a team to play per season. Especially teams like Miami, who spent big in the offseason and were expected to be good. If teams get a chance to match up with a ranked team, the committee can determine if they will truly succeed in the playoffs.
The committee should also ensure fairness to all divisions. There shouldn’t be a set number from each division allowed to make it, rather, there should be an expanded 14 team playoffs ensuring at least one team from each major division makes it. Just because teams are in the SEC doesn’t mean they should have priority.
Finally, the committee needs to revamp their roster. Right now, the committee is mostly males who have served their roles for multiple years. They should be cycled out each year so biases and certain expectations can be reduced.
The playoffs are sure to be exciting this year. But, as we watch teams like Ohio State and Notre Dame duke it out, we won’t be able to help but wonder, what if Miami had made the college football playoffs?
