Mario Cristobal is not interested in talking about Miami's College Football Playoff ranking. Even as the Hurricanes sit four spots behind Notre Dame in the latest CFP rankings despite a Week 1 win over the Irish, Miami's head coach is telling his team to ignore the noise and keep winning.
On ACC Network's "Inside ACCess" this week, Cristobal was asked about the Hurricanes checking in at No. 13 in the third CFP rankings, with Notre Dame at No. 9. Both teams are 8-2, but Miami owns a 27-24 victory over the Irish from the season opener at Hard Rock Stadium.
Miami Coach Mario Cristobal joined me and @ADavidHaleJoint on Inside ACCess and we had a chance to ask about the CFP rankings and the Canes being below ND despite a head to head win. Listen to the full show here https://t.co/KmS4lp7Uzu pic.twitter.com/JJ3a9YaQYk
— Andrea Adelson (@aadelsonESPN) November 21, 2025
"I feel like any and all competitors out there that the only chance you have to settle something on the field, that's always one way of settling it... We've had our opportunities early in this season but we're going some other ones coming up now so that is how we view things as they relate to accomplishments and head-to-head opportunities."Mario Cristobal
The debate over Miami and Notre Dame for the CFP
That Week 1 game remains the hinge point of the argument. Miami, then ranked No. 10, knocked off No. 6 Notre Dame on Aug. 31, with Carter Davis drilling a 47-yard field goal in the final minutes to seal the win in a rain-soaked Hard Rock Stadium. It is one of the better victories on any CFP contender, and it launched a season that has kept the Hurricanes in the CFP conversation into late November.
The selection committee, though, has focused on the losses. Committee chair Hunter Yurachek outlined this week that Notre Dame's two setbacks came against ranked opponents, including No. 3 Texas A&M and Miami, while Miami fell at home to Louisville and on the road at SMU, neither of which is currently ranked.
Yurachek has said the committee "really hasn't compared those two teams" yet, but that if and when Miami and Notre Dame land in the same pool, head-to-head will be "a significant data point."
Mario Cristobal's message is clear
"You come here it's automatically us against everybody. We don't dive into overdramatizing stuff and creating narratives. We have some really strong-minded hardworking guys and we have a really good football team. We're starting to get healthy in some parts where weren't healthy earlier and we are starting to play some good football. We have an opportunity to do special things down the stretch here... So that's our only focus: doing our absolute best."Mario Cristobal
Whether a 10-2 Miami with a head-to-head win over Notre Dame can jump the Irish in the final CFP rankings is out of Cristobal's hands. The committee has signaled it values quality losses as much as big wins, but Cristobal is betting that if his team keeps winning, that Week 1 result will be impossible to ignore.