ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips supports Miami, questions Alabama and Ohio State

During an appearance on ESPN College Gameday on Saturday, ACC commissioner questioned the College Football Playoff committee dropping Miami following its loss at Syracuse last Saturday more than Ohio State did after it was defeated by Michigan at home. Phillips also questioned Alabama moving up two spots.

Miami dropped from sixth to 12th in the CFP Rankings that were released on Tuesday. Ohio State fell four spots after losing to Michigan and Alabama moved up two spots after being Auburn. Those are all points Phillips discussed in depth during his conversation with Rece Davis on ESPN College Gameday.

Miami has two losses by a total of nine points. The three losses for Alabama were by 33 points. Two of those losses were to Oklahoma and Vanderbilt who each have six wins. Georgia Tech finished the regular season 7-5 (which Phillips discusses with an asterisk) and Syracuse is 9-3.

Phillips criticized the committee for a lack of consistency in how the CFP committee ranks the teams. The Big 10 and SEC are projected to receive over half of the bids when the final CFP rankings and brackets are released. Miami proved itself versus the ACC with a 41-17 season opening win at Florida.

"I was stunned to see Miami, who went into the last weekend (the) sixth-ranked team in the country go to a top 25 team at Syracuse and lose by four and fall six spots, when an Alabama team went to...and played Auburn a 5-6 team and jumped up two spots an eight-spot swing in one weekend was unbelievable. I think to the ACC, Miami has two losses all year...A loss at Georgia Tech who's 7-3 with Haynes King as quarterback and we saw how good Georgia Tech was on that Friday after Thanksgiving and to a 9-3 Syracuse team who's top 25 in the country. The committee has said on multiple times we really are about watching winning teams. We value winning and that's what our teams have done...We've had a winning record against the Big 10, we've had a winning record against the Big 12, we've won more games against the SEC than any other conference...For Miami to be leapfrogged in the last weekend eight spots when on the same weekend you had Michigan play Ohio State. Ohio State was a huge favorite in the game., they lost the game to a 6-5 Michigan team and fell four spots it doesn't make sense."

The CFP committee has at minimum implied they use the eye test over metrics. That is a difficult and subjective way to determine the rankings. Ohio State is third, Alabama fourth and Miami 11th in the ESPN Football Power Index. The results of Saturday could knock Alabama out of the CFP.

In most years no matter what happens, the CFP committee is likely to be criticized and scrutinized for their rankings. Phillips' implication that the Big 10 and SEC are overvalued is likely accurate. There is a different set of standards for the Big 10 and SEC and the way the committee values losses and wins versus other conferences.