Rhett Lashlee Even Believes Miami Should Have made it to the CFB Playoffs

Trinton Breeze

Jul 22, 2025 2 min read

Some people question whether the Hurricanes were or weren't snubbed out of the playoffs, but SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee had no doubts. He said he believed Miami should have made the College Football Playoff.

“Miami should have been in last year with a 10-2 record. No question they were one of the top 12 teams in the country,” Lashlee said. In December, he added, “If teams like Tennessee and Ohio State get in at 10-2, then Miami should have, too.”

Lashlee used to be Miami’s offensive coordinator in 2020 and 2021 before becoming the head coach at SMU. Since then, he’s done well, leading SMU to a 7–6 record in his first season and 11–3 the next, winning the AAC title. SMU then joined the ACC in 2024. In their first year in the ACC, Lashlee took SMU all the way to the ACC Championship Game.

Miami finished last season with a 10-2 record, with both losses coming by a combined total of just nine points to Georgia Tech and Syracuse. The loss to Syracuse in their final regular-season game ended up being costly; it kept them out of the ACC Championship Game, which could have helped their case for the College Football Playoff.

In the end, the selection committee put Alabama, which had a 9-3 record, ahead of Miami, even though Miami had a better record and fewer losses.

Click to expand...

Facebook X Bluesky LinkedIn Reddit WhatsApp Email Link

Comments (60)

View article View as thread

RF-4CCane

Jul 22, 2025

skeeter said:
What were "the rules for last year"?

Five highest ranked CCG winners were an AQ, with 4 highest ranked CCG winners getting a bye and CCG loser wouldn’t, according to the committee, be held against that team if the next team in question didn’t play in a CCG.

Brains

Jul 22, 2025

I have a serious blind spot, in that I cannot for the life of me grasp why people care about the things they do.

cway313

Jul 22, 2025

skeeter said:
Point something out that wasn't a fact.

Are you really trying to say their ACC schedule wasn't weaker. I literally just pointed out the teams.

Failing to realize a fact when it is staring you in the face is delusion…Good luck with your continued delusion.

skeeter said:
Miami clearly should have been over SMU

Jul 22, 2025

Rhett's the GOAT but that take was pretty terrible. No team that loses to Syracuse and Georgia Tech deserves to be in the playoffs.

T
TallyCane

Jul 22, 2025

JD08 said:

Kind of surprised he is saying this when a few SEC schools could be going after him next year.

JD08

Jul 22, 2025

TallyCane said:
Kind of surprised he is saying this when a few SEC schools could be going after him next year.

He's saving himself for Miami.

C
CaneinBroward

Jul 22, 2025

TallyCane said:
Kind of surprised he is saying this when a few SEC schools could be going after him next year.

You may be right, but I just don't see those in charge of SEC schools being that soft. If Lashlee looks like a slamdunk candidate, they'd be fools for passing him over for just stating a fact.

NZ Cane

Jul 22, 2025

Shocker - coach in conference, says said conference should have more teams in....

Dwinstitles

Jul 22, 2025

Trinton Breeze said:
Some people question whether the Hurricanes were or weren't snubbed out of the playoffs, but SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee had no doubts. He said he believed Miami should have made the College Football Playoff.

“Miami should have been in last year with a 10-2 record. No question they were one of the top 12 teams in the country,” Lashlee said. In December, he added, “If teams like Tennessee and Ohio State get in at 10-2, then Miami should have, too.”

Lashlee used to be Miami’s offensive coordinator in 2020 and 2021 before becoming the head coach at SMU. Since then, he’s done well, leading SMU to a 7–6 record in his first season and 11–3 the next, winning the AAC title. SMU then joined the ACC in 2024. In their first year in the ACC, Lashlee took SMU all the way to the ACC Championship Game.

Miami finished last season with a 10-2 record, with both losses coming by a combined total of just nine points to Georgia Tech and Syracuse. The loss to Syracuse in their final regular-season game ended up being costly; it kept them out of the ACC Championship Game, which could have helped their case for the College Football Playoff.

In the end, the selection committee put Alabama, which had a 9-3 record, ahead of Miami, even though Miami had a better record and fewer losses.

he aint lying we got robbed

S
skeeter

Jul 23, 2025

skeeter said:
Point something out that wasn't a fact.

Are you really trying to say their ACC schedule wasn't weaker. I literally just pointed out the teams.

Failing to realize a fact when it is staring you in the face is delusion…Good luck with your continued delusion.

skeeter said:
Miami clearly should have been over SMU

Ya I figured you'd white flag it. Per Uzh

SinisterCane

Jul 23, 2025

Replace Mario with Lashlee replace Mario and we would’ve made a playoff last year

RVACane

Jul 23, 2025

hoops156 said:
dont lose to cuse blowing a 3 td lead in your last game of the year and we might have.

we didnt deserve ****

Agreed except we deserved to be ahead of Bama. That was my only issue notwithstanding that generally we didn’t deserve **** after choking the season away

Unsider

Jul 23, 2025

RVACane said:
Agreed except we deserved to be ahead of Bama. That was my only issue notwithstanding that generally we didn’t deserve **** after choking the season away

We all know these two facts: 1) The sun rises in the east; 2) The Championship selection is corrupt.

Go Canes!!

Jul 23, 2025

We absolutely should have been in.

Angry Ibis

Jul 23, 2025

SinisterCane said:
Replace Mario with Lashlee replace Mario and we would’ve made a playoff last year

Lashlee the **** oncologist working with those cancerous cast offs….

ST26

Jul 23, 2025

We have nobody to blame but ourselves. We lost to GT and Syracuse lol

G
Golsen82

Jul 24, 2025

skeeter said:
Ya it's all facts though that's the thing.

Miami was schedule was really easy

SMU's schedule was definitely worse pre-Clemson.

Both teams played Louisville… Miami was up double digits before a meaningless TD, SMU needed a phantom call, but even if we call that equal.

And then...

They missed Cuse, missed GT, missed VT (who we played with Drones).

Duke was pretty phony, but that was the ACC's other winning team….SMU needed OT. UM won by 3 TD

With as bad as the ACC is, SMU getting in the playoff last year was an absolute joke. Neither team should have been in, but there was no way in **** that SMU team should have been in, and that's taking nothing away from the good job Lashelee has done.

Fsu should get in over smu.

G
Golsen82

Jul 24, 2025

Get a better run game and bring lashlee back!

Go Canes!!

Jul 24, 2025

We just had one of the best offensive seasons in program history, not to mention the first pick of the draft at quarterback, and some on here are clamoring for Lashlee ?

Never change CIS.

cway313

Jul 24, 2025

Go Canes!! said:
We just had one of the best offensive seasons in program history, not to mention the first pick of the draft at quarterback, and some on here are clamoring for Lashlee ?

Never change CIS.