Mario Cristobal, Cam Ward make Hurricanes’ case for College Football Playoff spot

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — No. 6 Miami started Saturday in control of its own playoff destiny. After losing to Syracuse, the Hurricanes need some help.

Miami will need the College Football Playoff selection committee to look favorably on it and give the team an at-large bid in order to make the 12-team tournament. UM coach Mario Cristobal and quarterback Cam Ward made that case after the loss.

“A lot of stuff going on in terms of the CFP and how they’re going to figure things out, as well,” Cristobal said. “There’s a lot of good football teams out there, and we’re one of them.”

Ward cited the team’s stats throughout the season. Miami entered the final week of the season with the top offense in the country.

“If they knew what was up, they’d put us in the playoff,” Ward said. “We are that team. It’s not in our hands anymore, but I mean, just go look at the stats. We’re that team. Every winner’s got to lose someday. If we get a chance to go in the playoff, we’re going to make the most of it. We don’t care if we’re a top-eight seed or we’re a 12 seed. The playoffs is anybody’s chance. We just hope we can get a shot.”

The Hurricanes will likely need several games to break their way in order to make the playoffs. But Cristobal cited their 10 victories as reasons why UM should be in consideration.

“This team won 10 football games against some really good opponents,” Cristobal said. “This last game came all the way down to the wire. Our two losses are one possession, less than a touchdown. That makes us one of the better teams in the country. We can control what we can control, so we have to wait and see. But certainly, this team has really worked hard and busted its butt to put its best foot forward.”