The final weekend before the College Football Playoff selection show has placed two 10-win programs in the same argument, but not in the same position. Miami is 10-2. Notre Dame is 10-2. The Hurricanes beat the Fighting Irish head-to-head on August 31. Yet HC Marcus Freeman’s team is still ranked two spots higher than HC Mario Cristobal’s. That set the stage for Saturday night, when both head coaches prepared to address the nation.

“Tonight on @CFBONFOX we have both Coach Freeman and Coach Cristobal on the show to make their case for the CFB playoff. Get your popcorn ready!👀🍿” former NFL QB Matt Leinart tweeted on December 6. 

Their public cases arrive as both teams wait for final results across the country.

Despite back-to-back landslide wins, Notre Dame dropped to No. 10 last week. Miami stayed at No. 12, unable to play for an ACC title due to the league’s unusual tiebreaker rules that pushed 7-5 Duke into the championship game. Miami can only wait for the Selection Show at noon on Sunday. And that waiting period has fueled one of the most debated rankings gaps of November.

The resumes are nearly identical. Notre Dame’s opponents are 75-68. Miami’s are 75-69. ND’s losses came to teams with a combined record of 21-3. Miami’s losses were to opponents sitting at 16-8. The committee has leaned toward Marcus Freeman’s squad throughout the season. But the head-to-head result keeps demanding an answer the committee has not given.

Miami is back on the playoff fringe for the second consecutive year. At 10-2 and sitting at No. 12, it needs to jump at least two teams. Texas Tech’s 34-7 win over BYU in the Big 12 Championship likely pushes BYU behind Miami. Alabama, meanwhile, could decide the entire picture with its performance in the SEC Championship Game. Everything Miami wants requires movement above them. 

If Alabama wins the SEC title, it is safely in. If Alabama loses, it becomes a three-loss team that could slide behind Notre Dame and Miami. That would keep the Hurricanes in the argument and force the committee to re-examine the head-to-head result if these two teams land next to each other. But another dramatic twist came from ESPN’s broadcast booth.

Kirk Herbstreit presented a scenario that cracked open both programs’ hopes. As Alabama trailed Georgia at halftime, he said a blowout loss could eject the Crimson Tide entirely. 

“If I’m a Notre Dame or Miami fan, I’m sitting here pulling for Georgia to just keep rolling,” he said. “Make this as big and as bad as you can for Alabama because that could potentially open the door for Miami and Notre Dame if Bama were to get blown out.”

Even with Alabama’s strong resume of four straight wins over ranked opponents and a regular-season win at Georgia, he stressed that an uncompetitive performance could end its playoff bid. Miami, Notre Dame, and Alabama all entered Saturday at 10-2, but only one of them owns a decisive head-to-head advantage over another. That brought the conversation back to the most uncomfortable question. Who deserves the final spot? And that question grew louder once a familiar SEC voice weighed in.

Nick Saban adds pressure to Miami-Notre Dame case

Former Alabama HC Nick Saban did not hesitate when asked to choose between Notre Dame and Miami. 

“Look at the game. Miami was a more physical team,” he said on ESPN’s College GameDay, referencing their Week 1 clash. “Jeremiyah Love gained 33 yards in the game. They won on the line of scrimmage. They kicked Notre Dame’s a– in the game, and that’s being considered now.”

His blunt assessment reopened the entire season opener result. The scoreboard reads 27-24, but the numbers inside the game were severe. Notre Dame was held to 93 rushing yards. Love, who has 1,372 yards this season and sits in the Heisman conversation, was limited to 33. Miami intercepted CJ Carr, who had only six picks all year. Miami sacked him three times while Notre Dame produced just one sack. The film supported Saban’s conclusion that Miami controlled the matchup.

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Notre Dame’s counterargument is consistency. The Irish posted a 70-7 win over Syracuse, handled Pitt 37-15, and performed at a top-15 level all year outside the 34-24 loss to USC. Marcus Freeman’s team has been the steadier product week-to-week. But steadiness does not erase the one game that binds both teams together, and the committee must decide which factor carries more weight.