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Notre Dame Being Ranked Over Miami Makes No Sense | Deadspin.com

Notre Dame Being Ranked Over Miami Makes No Sense | Deadspin.com

Less than three weeks out from the announcement of the College Football Playoff field, it seems we could be headed for another head-scratching decision regarding this year’s 12-team bracket.

In Tuesday’s updated rankings from the selection committee, Notre Dame sits at No. 9 while Miami is 13th.

Both teams are 8–2. Miami beat Notre Dame 27–24 back in Week 1. And yet, it seems clear the Fighting Irish will comfortably be in the field once again if they win their final two games, while the Hurricanes will probably need chaos to break their way since they’re very likely to miss the ACC Championship Game.

How is this the case when we literally have proof of what happens when these two seemingly comparable teams face off on the field?

“I think when you look at Notre Dame and Miami, we really compare the losses of those two teams. Miami has lost to two unranked teams,” new selection committee chair Hunter Yurachek said Tuesday. “We really haven’t compared those two teams, they haven’t been in similar comparative pools to date. But Miami is creeping up to where they will be compared to Notre Dame if something happens above them.”

Yurachek, who took over the role on Nov. 13 when Mack Rhoades stepped down while taking a leave of absence as Baylor’s athletic director, is technically right about Miami’s losses.

Louisville was ranked before losing a second straight game Saturday, but in the updated rankings, the Hurricanes’ two losses are indeed to unranked ACC teams. Still, Louisville and SMU are a combined 14–6 (9–4 in ACC), so they aren’t exactly pushovers.

They also aren’t the top-15 teams that Notre Dame lost to in its first two games (Miami and now-No. 3 Texas A&M) before rattling off its current eight-game winning streak.

But that’s only half the equation. Who you lose to matters — but who you beat should matter just as much.

Miami has a top-10 win over Notre Dame and what was another ranked win over South Florida until the Bulls took their third loss Saturday and fell out of the top 25.

Notre Dame has a win over No. 15 USC and a win over a Pitt team it just knocked out of the rankings. Beyond that, the Irish have beaten two Group of Six teams above .500 (Boise State at 6–4 and Navy at 8–2) and four Power Four opponents who are a combined 10–32 this season.

Miami has the worse losses. It also has the best win — and arguably a better overall set of wins.

Shouldn’t both of those things matter? And if the résumés are as similar as many believe, shouldn’t the tiebreaker be the head-to-head matchup they literally played this season?

Sometimes I feel like I’m taking crazy pills listening to some of the CFP committee’s ranking logic. The most frustrating part is how the committee seems to value entirely different criteria every single year.

Some seasons, good wins matter most. Other years, it’s all about avoiding bad losses. In 2014, it was “game control.” Then there was the dreadful Florida State snub in 2023, credited largely to Jordan Travis’ injury.

All we ask for is consistency, and apparently that’s too much to request.

Pittsburgh could do the CFP selection committee a real solid by knocking off Miami in the final week of the regular season and making this comparison point irrelevant.

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On Selection Monday, the Auburn Tigers were slotted in as the fourth overall team in the NCAA baseball field, thanks to a 38-19 overall record against the toughest schedule in all of college baseball. Their reward? A spot as a regional host, and a first-game date with Milwaukee out of the Horizon League, a 25-31 team that secured a spot in the field after winning the conference tournament.

Even better, Auburn would be sending left-hander Jake Marciano to the mound, he of the 2.65 ERA and 0.97 WHIP.

To say things were set up well for the Tigers would be putting it mildly. But by the top of the first inning the Panthers had put six runs on the board, Marciano was already in the showers, and Milwaukee was on its way to a stunning 13-8 win, putting Auburn on the brink of elimination.

The Panthers hung four runs on the board in the top of the first. A single from designated hitter Dom Kibler brought two runs home, staking Milwaukee to the early lead. That brought left fielder Bradyn Horn to the dish with a pair of runners aboard.

In the blink of an eye, it was 4-0 Panthers:

It was the fifth home run of the year for Horn, and an unexpected start to the contest. And after keeping the Tigers scoreless in the bottom of the first, Milwaukee chased Marciano in the top of the second with two more runs.

Milwaukee held a 6-0 lead in the top of the fourth, when they broke into double digits. Third baseman Grant Ross singled to bring home Connor Bozak, bringing Charlie Marion to the plate with a pair of Panthers aboard.

That’s when Marion blasted his 13th home run of the season:

Auburn would start chipping away at Milwaukee’s lead, and a blast from Eric Guevara in the bottom of the seventh cut the Panthers’ advantage to 12-7. And the Tigers got out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth, when Jett Johnston struck out Horn to keep Auburn within five.

But the Tigers could not complete the comeback.

Riley Peterson held Auburn scoreless in the eighth, retiring the side in order with a strikeout and a pair of groundouts. Milwaukee pushed another run across in the ninth, when Marion walked with the bases loaded, the fourth walk given up by Auburn pitchers in the frame.

The Tigers loaded the bases in the ninth and got a sacrifice fly from Guevara to cut the score to 13-8, but Peterson got catcher Chase Fralick to line out to center for the final out.

The celebration was on in the Panthers’ dugout.

For Milwaukee, it was just the second NCAA tournament win in program history, the first coming back in 1999 when the Panthers knocked off Rice. Milwaukee finished the afternoon having gone 8-for-16 with runners in scoring position, and the 13 runs were the most scored by the team in their NCAA tournament history.

As for the Tigers, they became just the sixth top four national seed in NCAA tournament history to lose a regional opener, joining Alabama (No. 3, 2002), Georgia Tech (No. 3, 2003), Florida State (No. 4, 2008), Baylor (No. 4, 2012), Florida (No. 2, 2014), and North Carolina (No. 2, 2017).

The Tigers will hope to join an even smaller list with Florida State and Baylor, as those two teams still went on to win their regional.

Milwaukee will take on the winner of No. 3 NC State and No. 2 UCF, while Auburn will face the loser of that contest in an elimination game.

#NCAA #baseball #tournament #Milwaukee #stuns #Auburn">NCAA baseball tournament 2026: Milwaukee stuns Auburn  On Selection Monday, the Auburn Tigers were slotted in as the fourth overall team in the NCAA baseball field, thanks to a 38-19 overall record against the toughest schedule in all of college baseball. Their reward? A spot as a regional host, and a first-game date with Milwaukee out of the Horizon League, a 25-31 team that secured a spot in the field after winning the conference tournament.Even better, Auburn would be sending left-hander Jake Marciano to the mound, he of the 2.65 ERA and 0.97 WHIP.To say things were set up well for the Tigers would be putting it mildly. But by the top of the first inning the Panthers had put six runs on the board, Marciano was already in the showers, and Milwaukee was on its way to a stunning 13-8 win, putting Auburn on the brink of elimination.The Panthers hung four runs on the board in the top of the first. A single from designated hitter Dom Kibler brought two runs home, staking Milwaukee to the early lead. That brought left fielder Bradyn Horn to the dish with a pair of runners aboard.In the blink of an eye, it was 4-0 Panthers:It was the fifth home run of the year for Horn, and an unexpected start to the contest. And after keeping the Tigers scoreless in the bottom of the first, Milwaukee chased Marciano in the top of the second with two more runs.Milwaukee held a 6-0 lead in the top of the fourth, when they broke into double digits. Third baseman Grant Ross singled to bring home Connor Bozak, bringing Charlie Marion to the plate with a pair of Panthers aboard.That’s when Marion blasted his 13th home run of the season:Auburn would start chipping away at Milwaukee’s lead, and a blast from Eric Guevara in the bottom of the seventh cut the Panthers’ advantage to 12-7. And the Tigers got out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth, when Jett Johnston struck out Horn to keep Auburn within five.But the Tigers could not complete the comeback.Riley Peterson held Auburn scoreless in the eighth, retiring the side in order with a strikeout and a pair of groundouts. Milwaukee pushed another run across in the ninth, when Marion walked with the bases loaded, the fourth walk given up by Auburn pitchers in the frame.The Tigers loaded the bases in the ninth and got a sacrifice fly from Guevara to cut the score to 13-8, but Peterson got catcher Chase Fralick to line out to center for the final out.The celebration was on in the Panthers’ dugout.For Milwaukee, it was just the second NCAA tournament win in program history, the first coming back in 1999 when the Panthers knocked off Rice. Milwaukee finished the afternoon having gone 8-for-16 with runners in scoring position, and the 13 runs were the most scored by the team in their NCAA tournament history.As for the Tigers, they became just the sixth top four national seed in NCAA tournament history to lose a regional opener, joining Alabama (No. 3, 2002), Georgia Tech (No. 3, 2003), Florida State (No. 4, 2008), Baylor (No. 4, 2012), Florida (No. 2, 2014), and North Carolina (No. 2, 2017).The Tigers will hope to join an even smaller list with Florida State and Baylor, as those two teams still went on to win their regional.Milwaukee will take on the winner of No. 3 NC State and No. 2 UCF, while Auburn will face the loser of that contest in an elimination game.  #NCAA #baseball #tournament #Milwaukee #stuns #Auburn

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