It’s lobbying season in college football, with coaches, administrators and fans breathlessly presenting their most compelling cases for why they believe their teams should be included in the 12-team College Football Playoff.
Sometimes, that politicking is even done by actual, in-the-flesh politicians.
During a meeting between President Donald Trump and members of his cabinet on Tuesday, Dec. 2, Secretary of State Marco Rubio put personal rooting interests to the side and used his designated speaking opportunity to campaign for Miami’s inclusion in the playoff.
“I’m a Florida Gator, but if the University of Miami gets screwed out of the College Football Playoffs, after going 10-2 and beating Notre Dame, the whole thing should be scrapped and (Trump) is gonna have to take over next year,” Rubio said.
Rubio’s a Miami native and former U.S. Senator from Florida who attended Florida as an undergrad before earning a law degree from Miami. His connection to the Florida football program goes beyond cheering for them on Saturdays. His son, Anthony, is a sophomore running back for the Gators.
Miami is one of the most hotly debated teams heading into Sunday’s reveal of the final playoff field. The Hurricanes went 10-2 during the regular season, with both of their losses coming in conference play by a combined nine points. Thanks to a convoluted and controversial series of tiebreakers, they were left out of the ACC championship game, meaning they have no chance at earning an automatic berth to the playoff as one of the sport’s five highest-ranked conference champions.
Still, there’s a potentially valuable bullet point on Miami’s resume, one that could ultimately earn it a spot in the playoff — a 27-24 season-opening victory against a Notre Dame team that has an identical 10-2 record, but was ranked three spots ahead of the Hurricanes in last week’s playoff selection committee rankings.
The committee will release its newest set of rankings on the night of Dec. 2.