Miami's Mario Cristobal relieved by CFP berth, but knows process isn't perfect - ESPN

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Mario Cristobal spent four seasons working under Nick Saban at Alabama and learned countless lessons, some of which stand out more than others.

And when thinking about the College Football Playoff, one of Saban's quotes from Cristobal's time as an assistant with him stood out.

"'If you want to make everybody happy, don't coach and get involved in football. Go sell ice cream, because the ice cream man makes everybody happy,'" Cristobal said, recalling the Saban line. «In football, not everybody's going to be happy.»

A year ago, at 10-2 and snubbed by the CFP committee, Miami wasn't happy.

This year, at 10-2 and headed to Texas A&M for a playoff game, the Hurricanes are thrilled. It ultimately came down to an either-or pick for the last at-large spot, Miami or Notre Dame — and the committee had no choice but to finally recognize the Hurricanes' 27-24 season-opening win over the Fighting Irish.

With that, Miami went to the playoff and Notre Dame's season ended. The Irish passed on bowl invites, telling fans they would turn its focus toward winning a national title in 2026. And yes, the Hurricanes and Irish are scheduled to play at Notre Dame next November.

«Notre Dame's a great football team,» Cristobal said. «Processes like this… all processes need to be assessed again and remedied wherever they can, but I think everybody's working at it. Last year we were excluded and we weren't very happy. It's a tough business, man. It's a really, really tough business. I respect everybody and everyone involved in it.»

The CFP selection committee was asked to re-watch the Notre Dame-Miami game in recent days, and committee chair Hunter Yurachek said things stood out.

«There was observation from the coaches in the