Over the last few weeks, there have been plenty of barbs flung between Notre Dame and Miami fans. There's been plenty of insults and outrage tossed back and forth from members of the media, too. However, Fighting Irish and Hurricanes fans shouldn't be fighting with each other. They both have a common enemy in the SEC that is getting one over on both of them.
While Notre Dame and Miami will likely battle it out for the final College Football Playoffs seed, the truth is that they should both get in. The teams that should be sweating at-large bids are Oklahoma, Texas, Vanderbilt, and Alabama. And yet, three of those four are considered locks to get in, and it would not be out of the question for all four to squeak into the field of 12.
The Sooners, especially, are considered a lock to be in the field, and that doesn't seem like the way things should shake out. Their two best wins are over Alabama and Michigan. Not bad wins for sure, but a blowout loss to Texas and an 8-point loss to Ole Miss. Neither of those losses is better than Notre Dame's.
Notre Dame and Miami deserve spots over shaky SEC contenders
There's also the fact that OU did everything in its power to almost lose to an LSU team that is not good, especially offensively. Wins over Auburn and Missouri weren't all that impressive either.
Meanwhile, the Irish took care of business. The closest win in their 10-game winning streak was 15 points. None of their last four opponents stayed within 20 points. Likewise, Miami took care of business.
The CFP committee has said over and over that consistency and improvement as the season has gone on are big factors when looking for at-large bids. Miami, after its misstep against SMU, blew out its last four opponents, including No. 22 Pitt.
Alabama, Georgia, and Oklahoma limped to the finish line with all three teams fighting off near upsets in the final weekend of the regular season.
For now, Vanderbilt and Texas should both be ranked behind Notre Dame and Miami, but there's been a push for the Commodores, especially after finishing 10-2 for the first time in program history.
However, while some analysts love to claim Vandy's resume is impressive, it's very much not. Vandy's best win is against Tennessee, which might not be ranked come Sunday afternoon. The rest of their SEC wins are Kentucky, South Carolina, Missouri, LSU, and Auburn. No currently ranked teams and 8 wins as the most for any squad.
So why is Vanderbilt being pushed into the field by analysts? Because of the SEC bias. The same goes for Texas after beating Texas A&M despite three losses.
The ground is shifting for Notre Dame and Miami, and it's not impossible to think both squads will miss the 12-team CFP field. It isn't fair that either will miss it at this point if the College Football Playoffs are genuinely looking for the 12 best teams.