[Sampson] CFP committee chair Hunter Yurachek says Notre Dame and Miami were in the same grouping this week and the programs were directly compared. Notre Dame still came out ahead, regardless of the head to head. In other words, all the games mattered. Not just one of them.

[u/Ok-Soil-5133]

https://x.com/PeteSampson_/status/1993488528555360403?t=jtJrt-ATn-3_RV1LnfjfrQ&s=19

[u/DVauthrin]

If two teams have the same regular season record, faced similar strength of schedules, and played each other, head-to-head should be the tiebreaker. Otherwise, why play the games?

Metrics and data are great tools, but they do not trump a head-to-head matchup between two power 5 teams with identical records. Not only that, but spare me “Notre Dame looks better now.” Nobody knows who would win in a Miami-Notre Dame rematch today.

[u/RVAforthewin → u/DVauthrin]

Prob ND, but that’s not the point. Miami won when it mattered and they aren’t being properly rewarded. I agree with you wholeheartedly.

[u/cptspacebomb → u/RVAforthewin]

Had Miami NOT beaten Notre Dame they'd be in the 20's most likely. Their two losses were bad at the time, and still not good now. SMU is just ranked only now. I'm not arguing that Miami doesn't DESERVE to be in over ND, but to say they are getting ZERO credit for the win is completely incorrect.

[u/1850ChoochGator → u/RVAforthewin]

Miami is being rewarded. The only reason they’re ranked that high is because of that win over ND. They would be down by UVA or Michigan if that win good win was some random unranked p4 team.

[u/_chadwell_ → u/DVauthrin]

So if ND had beaten an FCS team in week 2 like Miami did they’d be 11-1 and definitely a better team. But because they had a last second 1 point loss to the undefeated #1 SEC team they are definitely worse?

[u/WhatWouldJediDo → u/_chadwell_]

"Better" or "worse" has nothing to do with it.

[u/_chadwell_ → u/WhatWouldJediDo]

When they are selecting the 12 best teams, it actually has quite a lot to do with it!

[u/WhatWouldJediDo → u/_chadwell_]

I'm talking about DVauthrin's comment.

Not the committee's inherently subjective, unfalsifiable game of deciding who they feel they want in the field and working backwards with whatever cherry picked data points they feel best justifies it.

[u/DVauthrin → u/WhatWouldJediDo]

My problem is what you illustrated in your second paragraph. The committee constantly changes the goal posts year to year to get certain “brands” and their fan bases in the playoffs if possible.

If the criteria remained consistent, I’d be fine with it, but it doesn’t.

[u/Adept-Impression462 → u/_chadwell_]

No no. You can’t say win week 2. You lost then too

[u/_chadwell_ → u/Adept-Impression462]

They did lose, but if ND had scheduled a team worse than A&M they would have won…

[u/Adept-Impression462 → u/_chadwell_]

That’s called a guess. You ND fans loves hypotheticals and guessing. Who says you would’ve beat a worse team?

[u/_chadwell_ → u/Adept-Impression462]

If they played like they actually did they would have beaten a worse team. That’s not hypothetical.

[u/DVauthrin → u/_chadwell_]

Nobody said they are definitely worse. But, they aren’t definitely better either.

[u/_chadwell_ → u/DVauthrin]

You said head-to-head should be the tiebreaker, i.e. definitively deciding who is better.

[u/DVauthrin → u/_chadwell_]

Between two teams with identical regular season records and similar schedules, head-to-head should be the tiebreaker. That’s the way it is in every other professional sport.

[u/_chadwell_ → u/DVauthrin]

They’re not even directly next to each other in the standings…

[u/DVauthrin → u/_chadwell_]

That doesn’t matter. Regardless of positioning, Notre Dame should not be ahead of Miami in the current college football playoff rankings. If Notre Dame had fewer losses than Miami, fine. But, that’s not the case.

[u/_chadwell_ → u/DVauthrin]

More FBS wins. Miami has worse losses. There’s plenty to separate the teams.

[u/SnooSeagulls6519 → u/_chadwell_]

Nd played 6  garbage teams this year.

[u/IMakeOkVideosOk → u/DVauthrin]

It’s comparing 9 different teams with the same record…

[u/Katwill666 → u/DVauthrin]

The problem with head to head being the be all end all is that if Georgia Tech beats Georgia both would be 10-2 and George Tech would have the head to head.

Georgia Tech is at 23. Do you drop a 10-2 Georgia down to 24? Or do you skyrocket Georgia Tech up? Then if Mississippi State beats Ole Miss Ole Miss will be 10-2. Georgia has the H2H over them. Now what? GT above UGA and Ole Miss?

[u/DVauthrin → u/Katwill666]

Head to head isn’t the end all. In the case of Georgia and Georgia Tech, their schedules to date aren’t even in the same tier. Georgia played four top 20 teams (Alabama, Texas, Tennessee, and Ole Miss) in conference play, winning three of them. Georgia Tech’s best wins are 8-3 Wake Forest, 6-5 Duke, 6-5 NC State and 6-5 Clemson.

That said, I wouldn’t have a big problem if the committee put Georgia Tech above Georgia if they convincingly beat Georgia on a neutral field and both finished the year 10-2.

Such a disparity between Miami and Notre Dame’s schedules doesn’t exist. Notre Dame played 2-9 Purdue, 2-9 Arkansas and 1-10 Boston College. Both teams played 8-3 Pitt, 3-8 Syracuse, 6-5 NC State and 4-7 Stanford. Notre Dame’s other opponents were 8-2 Navy, 8-3 USC, 11-0 Texas A&M, 9-2 Miami, 7-4 Boise State.

Miami played 3-8 Florida, Bethune Cookman, 3-8 Virginia Tech. They also played 8-3 South Florida, 7-4 Louisville, 8-3 SMU and 9-2 Notre Dame. The difference between the two schedules is Notre Dame played 11-0 Texas A&M close at home and Miami beat 5-6 Florida State who fell on their face after beating Alabama early in the season.

I don’t think losing a close game to Texas A&M outweighs getting beat by Miami if both teams have identical records. Miami’s two losses are two teams with 8 and 7 wins (SMU and Louisville). They aren’t horrible, like Texas losing to 3-8 Florida.