The No. 4 Miami Hurricanes’ 28-23 loss to Georgia Tech on Saturday ended their undefeated season, but their aspirations for both the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championship Game and a potential berth in the College Football Playoff remain intact.
Miami’s path to the ACC Championship in Charlotte on Dec. 7 is still clear, especially after No. 18 Pittsburgh’s unexpected 24-19 loss at home to Virginia. With two remaining conference games against Wake Forest (Nov. 23) and Syracuse (Nov. 30), the Hurricanes control their destiny to reach the conference title game.
Currently, Miami is one of three ACC teams with either zero or one loss in conference play, alongside No. 13 SMU and No. 23 Clemson. SMU’s remaining conference slate includes games against Boston College (Nov. 16), Virginia (Nov. 23), and Cal (Nov. 30), while Clemson’s final league contest is against Pittsburgh on Nov. 16.
If Miami wins its final two games to finish 7-1 in ACC play, the Hurricanes would only face tiebreaker scenarios with SMU and Clemson, where they hold the advantage in both situations:
- SMU finishes 8-0, Miami and Clemson finish 7-1: In this case, Miami would earn a spot in the ACC Championship Game alongside SMU. Since Miami and Clemson did not play head-to-head, the tiebreaker would be based on win percentage against common opponents. Miami would have a 4-0 record against the four common opponents (FSU, Wake Forest, Louisville, and Virginia Tech), while Clemson would be 3-1 due to a loss to Louisville.
- SMU, Miami, and Clemson all finish 7-1: Here, the three-way tiebreaker would also hinge on win percentage against common opponents. Miami, SMU, and Clemson share two common opponents—FSU and Louisville. Both Miami and SMU would have a 2-0 record against those teams, while Clemson would have a 1-1 record, losing to Louisville. This would result in a Miami-SMU ACC Championship Game.
With their fate still in their own hands, the Hurricanes remain in strong contention for a place in the conference title game, with only a few hurdles remaining in the regular season.
ACC Standings Through Week 11
Here’s a look at the current ACC standings, ranked by conference record, along with each team’s remaining conference games:
- SMU Mustangs (8-1 overall, 5-0 ACC)
- Miami Hurricanes (9-1, 5-1)
- Clemson Tigers (7-2, 6-1)
- Louisville Cardinals (6-3, 4-2)
- Pittsburgh Panthers (7-2, 3-2)
- Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (6-4, 4-3)
- Virginia Tech Hokies (5-5, 3-3)
- Syracuse Orange (6-3, 3-3)
- Duke Blue Devils (7-3, 3-3)
- Virginia Cavaliers (5-4, 3-3)
- North Carolina Tar Heels (5-4, 2-3)
- Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4-5, 2-3)
- Boston College Eagles (5-4, 2-3)
- NC State Wolfpack (5-5, 2-4)
- Cal Golden Bears (5-4, 1-4)
- Stanford Cardinal (2-7, 1-5)
- Florida State Seminoles (1-9, 1-7)