Mario Cristobal has made appearances on several college football shows this week to state the case for Miami to make the playoff. Among the appearances Cristobal made were the Andy and Ari Show on On3, Bear Bets hosted by Miami alum Chris "Bear" Fallica and Mac and Murray.
Cristobal has stated that Miami deserves to be in the CFP with a win over Notre Dame and an identical 10-2 record with the Fighting Irish. Miami defeated Notre Dame 27-24 in the season opener. Cristobal has continually pointed out Miami had bigger scoring margins than Notre Dame against three of their four common opponents.
Miami and Notre Dame both played and defeated North Carolina State, Pittsburgh, Stanford and Syracuse. Miami beat Pittsburgh 38-7, NC State 41-7, Stanford 42-7 and Syracuse 38-7. Notre Dame beat NC State 38-7, Pittsburgh 37-15, Stanford 49-20 and Syracuse 70-7.
Notre Dame is third and Miami is seventh in the ESPN Football Power Index. The Fighting Irish are 13th in the FPI strength of record, has the 42nd strength of schedule and is fifth in game control and average in-game win probability.
Miami is 14th in strength of record, 44th in SOS, sixth in game control and average in-game win probability. Miami was in control of the game and had over a 50 percent chance to beat Notre Dame per ESPN analytics from the final 2:23 of the first half on.
Cristobal also made local appearances, including his weekly discussion on the Joe Rose Show on WQAM, the Canes Insight podcast and on Theorhetorically Speaking on 104.3 ESPN South Florida. Cristobal has consistently made the same points to state the case for Miami's inclusion in the CFP.
Miami finished tied with Duke, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh and SMU at 6-2 in the ACC. Miami beat Pittsburgh and lost to SMU, but did not play Duke or Georgia Tech. Miami athletic director Dan Radakovich said earlier this week that the ACC can get better at tiebreakers.
Duke is playing in the ACC Championship Game because of the fifth tiebreaker. The Blue Devils' ACC opponents had the best conference record. Miami now has to wait until Sunday to learn its CFP fate. Games to watch that could impact Miami are the Big XII and SEC Championship Games.