Nick Saban has already said that he believes Miami should be in the College Football Playoff 12-team bracket, so the Hall of Fame coach is already on the right side.
But as Saban continues to push for the Hurricanes and push that they belong ahead of Notre Dame, he spoke more about the Week 1 game itself. On ESPN"s College GameDay this morning, the coach said that Miami didn't just win the game, but they won the eye test by being the bigger, stronger team.
“Look at the (head-to-head). Miami was the more physical team in the game. Jeremiyah Love gained 33 yards in the game… they kicked Notre Dame’s ass.
— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) December 6, 2025
It’s hard to not think that both of those teams should be in.”
- Nick Saban on Miami & Notre Dame pic.twitter.com/2ooogufGrq
"Miami was the more physical team in the game. Jeremiyah Love gained 33 yards in the game. They won on the line of scrimmage. They kicked Notre Dame's ass in the game. And that's...not being considered," Saban said.
Saban is right, the game itself is being ignored
Obviously, most of us think head-to-head should be the deciding factor, but, as Saban points out, it's not just the fact that Miami won, but how Miami won. The Hurricanes led by double digits in the game, and they shut down Notre Dame's best player on offense — a potential Heisman finalist. This wasn't just some fluky win or a game that went back-and-forth throughout. Miami controlled a good portion of the game.
(Remember when ESPN used that bogus 'game control' metric to feed some SEC-love narrative and have since forgotten about it?)
Will the CFP keep a buffer between ND and Miami?
One of the slick moves that the committee has used in their rankings is to keep at least one team between the Hurricanes and the Irish, so they aren't in direct competition. That goal post has already moved once, as originally, when Miami was 12th and Notre Dame was ninth, it was stated they were in two different tiers. Now they are supposedly in the same tier, but not in direct competition with each other.
Of course, it doesn't make sense. That's kind of the point. The committee knows this is ridiculous and can't legitimately justify it
Currently the team between Miami and Notre Dame is BYU. If BYU loses to Texas Tech in the Big XII Championship game, the Cougars will probably slide down and out of the top 12 .That leaves Alabama as the new potential buffer. If the Crimson Tide loses to Georgia tonight in the SEC Championship Game, the committee could simply move Alabama into that open spot at No. 11 and keep Miami and Notre Dame separated. That would keep Miami out, put Notre Dame in and avoid the two teams being in direct competition.
Just something to watch for.