With the College Football Playoff field nearly set, the debate around who deserves the final at-large spot is heating up - and both Miami and Texas are making their cases loud and clear. But with just one week left before the final rankings are revealed, both programs are still firmly on the outside looking in. And now, the politicking has gone public.
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian isn’t holding back. After Miami capped off a dominant 38-7 win over Pitt with a late touchdown - a 33-yard strike from Carson Beck to CJ Daniels with just 41 seconds left - Sarkisian took issue with what he saw as unnecessary scoreboard padding. On Monday, he voiced his frustration during an appearance on the SEC Network, using the moment to question how the selection committee is evaluating teams.
“There’s teams ranked in front of us that haven’t played any top-10 teams,” Sarkisian said. “Is this about your record?
Or is it about beating quality teams and showing how good you really are? Or is it just about putting up a bunch of points, throwing fade routes with 38 seconds left when you’re already up big, just to make it look better on paper?”
It was a clear shot at Miami - and Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal didn’t let it slide.
Cristobal fired back later that day, reminding everyone that Miami handled a common opponent far more convincingly than Texas did. “I get it, everyone’s trying to posture,” Cristobal said.
“But when you’re going to make a point like that, you’ve also got to look at the common opponent. We dominated that opponent.
They didn’t.”
While the College Football Playoff committee has long stated that margin of victory isn’t a major factor in rankings, the reality is more nuanced. Metrics like "game control" - which factor in how convincingly a team wins - do carry weight.
And whether Sarkisian likes it or not, Miami has now scored late, seemingly unnecessary touchdowns in back-to-back weeks. The week before Pitt, Beck hit Malachi Toney on a fourth-down fade in the final minute against Virginia Tech to cap a 34-17 win.
Miami vs. Texas: A Tale of Two Resumes
The Hurricanes are trying to build momentum at the right time. Last week, the committee slotted them at No. 12 - two spots away from the final at-large berth.
More importantly, Miami moved into the same tier as No. 9 Notre Dame, which is significant given that the Hurricanes beat the Fighting Irish head-to-head in the season opener and have also dominated common opponents in recent weeks.
Cristobal, making his case after the Pitt win, didn’t mince words: “This is a College Football Playoff team. We’ve all seen it.
We know it. Proud of the way our guys came out, dominated from start to finish.
We left a lot of points on the board. We’re really starting to click.”
He also pointed to the obvious: “The best part about football is you get to settle it on the field, where head-to-head is always the No. 1 criterion.”
But the rankings tell a different story. Despite the head-to-head win, Notre Dame still sits ahead of Miami. And with only a few spots left to be claimed - including two automatic bids for the ACC and Group of Five champions - the margin for error is razor-thin.
Where Things Stand
According to the latest projections, six teams are locked into the playoff: Ohio State, Indiana, Georgia, Texas Tech, Oregon, and Ole Miss. That leaves four at-large spots up for grabs.
Oklahoma, Notre Dame, and Alabama held the No. 8, 9, and 10 spots last week. BYU and Miami were right behind them, essentially waiting for a slip-up from the teams ahead.
Texas, meanwhile, was ranked No. 16 - a full six spots behind the final at-large cutoff - and the Longhorns’ path to the postseason looks like it’s been blocked off entirely.
Still, Sarkisian isn’t backing down. After Texas wrapped up its season with a 27-17 win over previously unbeaten Texas A&M, he made his pitch.
“I think we’re absolutely a playoff team,” he said. “We’re the first team since the 2019 LSU national champions to beat three top-10 teams in the regular season. Let’s just chew on that for a second.”
It’s a strong stat, no doubt. But the problem for Texas is that none of the teams above them in the rankings lost last weekend.
Alabama beat Auburn. Notre Dame rolled over Stanford.
BYU took care of UCF. Oklahoma edged LSU.
The door that needed to crack open for the Longhorns stayed shut.
The Final Push
There’s still a sliver of hope for Miami - and maybe a glimmer for Texas - depending on how championship weekend unfolds. If Texas Tech blows out BYU in the Big 12 title game and Georgia handles Alabama with authority in the SEC Championship, the committee could be forced to reevaluate. And that’s where Miami’s recent dominance - and yes, even those late touchdowns - might start to matter more than anyone wants to admit.
For now, the Hurricanes and Longhorns remain on the outside, each armed with compelling arguments but dependent on chaos to break through. One thing’s for sure: the final rankings on Tuesday night are going to spark plenty of conversation.