Miami quarterback Carson Beck (11) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Syracuse Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
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Early last month, Miami was second in the Associated Press poll, just the third time in the past 22 years the Hurricanes were ranked that high. Since then, UM has lost two games, making mistakes that have become commonplace during coach Mario Cristobal’s tenure.
Still, the Hurricanes on Tuesday night were No. 15 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, the highest of any Atlantic Coast Conference program. The league had four other ranked teams in No. 16 Georgia Tech, No. 19 Virginia, No. 20 Louisville and No. 22 Pittsburgh.
Miami moved up from No. 18 in the initial CFP rankings that were released on Nov. 4, which was the fourth-best among ACC schools. But Virginia and Louisville fell after losing last weekend, while Georgia Tech had a bye week and was still ranked behind Miami, which defeated Syracuse 38-10 last Saturday.
The problem for Miami? The Hurricanes are currently seventh in the ACC with a 3-2 record against league opponents. Georgia Tech, Virginia, Pittsburgh and unranked SMU are atop the league with 5-1 records, followed by unranked Duke at 4-1 and Louisville at 4-2.
As such, even if Miami wins its final three ACC games against North Carolina State, Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh, the Hurricanes may not make it to the conference championship game. If that were to happen, UM would not be eligible to receive an automatic berth into the CFP. The rules stipulate that the five highest-ranked conference champions are included in the 12-team playoff field, but Miami wouldn’t be eligible for one of those slots if it failed to qualify for the ACC title game.
As of now, there are numerous scenarios for how the ACC race will unfold. This Saturday, Duke hosts Virginia, so one of those teams will end up having two conference losses. The following week, Georgia Tech hosts Pitt, meaning that will end with another team with two league losses. There are other major non-conference games, as well, including Pitt hosting No. 9 Notre Dame on Saturday and Georgia Tech playing No. 5 Georgia on Nov. 28 (the day after Thanksgiving) at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
For the ACC, the worst scenario would be if Duke ends up winning the conference championship game because the Blue Devils would have at least four losses, including to Connecticut. If that occurred, Duke may not be among the five highest-ranked conference champions, meaning the ACC wouldn’t get an automatic berth and might not send any teams to the CFP.
Of course, there’s also a scenario where Miami finishes 10-2, doesn’t make the ACC championship game but still gets an at-large berth in the CFP. The Hurricanes opened the season with a 27-24 victory over Notre Dame, which should be in the playoff field if it wins its remaining games. That victory would be a boon for Miami, as would a league win over Pitt and a non-conference victory over South Florida, which is currently No. 24 in the CFP rankings and the highest-ranked team from outside the Power 4 leagues of the ACC, Southeastern Conference, Big Ten and Big 12.
A year ago, Miami was fourth in the first CFP rankings and sixth as of late November, but the Hurricanes lost their regular season finale at Syracuse and missed the playoffs. This year, the program needs to win its remaining games to have a shot at the CFP. Even then, that may not be enough, although there are bound to be upsets in the final three weeks of the regular season, which could put a 10-2 Miami team in position for the playoffs even without competing in the ACC title game.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/timcasey/2025/11/12/miami-is-accs-highest-ranked-team-but-may-miss-conference-title-game-and-cfp/
