I can’t believe it’s Week 11. I also can’t believe Miami only scored three points in the first half at Notre Dame. On the other hand, the timing of Malachi Toney’s injury was as bad as it could get. The Canes didn’t have the practice time to get the offense comfortable (as much as possible) without having #1 on the field. Still, last week’s game was lost in the first half. I appreciate the passion of Miami fans, but that wasn’t enough of a catch to be a catch. Sorry. I will say I loved how our team
fought back in the second half. The defense bowed up and the offense figured out how to get first downs and score touchdowns. Despite all that recent positivity, I am definitely nervous for Duke on Saturday afternoon.
Oh, and Miami can clinch a spot in the 2026 ACC Championship Game this week with a win, plus some help from Wake Forest and UNC. It’s time to get serious. Well, at least for those games. No promises for the others.
Let’s do some rooting.
FSU @ Pitt – 11/13 at 7:00 PM EST, TV – ESPN
All it took for the Florida State football program to win its first road game since 2024 was to fire coach Mike Norvell..and play Boston College. BC was actually up 17-7 early in the second quarter, oh well. The Eagles are still terrible. Pitt is coming off a bye after smoking a bad Georgia Tech team the week prior. The Panthers still have a lot to play for: nine wins, restarting FSU’s road losing streak, plus possibly eliminating Louisville from ACC Championship Game contention. Rooting against Pat Narduzzi’s squad is one of my favorite things to do in this article. Not this week. Let’s go Pitt.
Matchup of the week
#13 Wake Forest @ SMU – 11/14 at 12:00 PM EST, TV – ESPN
It stinks this game is on at the same time as Miami vs Duke. I’d love to sit on the couch and watch every play of a matchup between what I think are the next best ACC teams after the Canes. I guess I’ll have to settle for the condensed version later in the day. The Demon Deacons beat the Mustangs last year. SMU coach Rhett Lashlee will want some payback. Not to mention a win puts his squad right back in the ACC championship and CFP mix. We’re all Canes fans here, but this is the biggest conference game this season so far. Miami needs some help to clinch a spot in Charlotte as I mentioned. Also, I want a rematch! Let’s go Wake Forest.
Syracuse @ NC State – 11/14 at 12:00 PM EST, TV – ACCN
This seems like a CW Network-type-of-matchup. That shows how bad the Yellow Jackets are this year; they’re dragging Clemson down with them. Anyway, Syracuse fought hard in its loss to Clemson last week. Fran Brown’s squad should have eight wins before the season-ending matchup against Notre Dame. NC State got blown out at home by Duke last week after getting a nice home win over Cal the week prior. We’ll see if former Wolfpack legend Philip Rivers is able to get things turned around in Raleigh, which will be his first college coaching job. I’m skeptical. Let’s go NC State.
Georgia Tech @ Clemson – 11/14 at 12:30 PM EST, TV – CW
Dabo’s squad has six wins. I think this week makes it seven. Clemson’s final two games are at Duke and vs South Carolina. The Tigers are unequivocally worse than those teams. If the season ends at 7-5 with two straight losses, Clemson better make the 24-team 2027 CFP, or Dabo is gone. Beyond that, I am not even convinced a new coach can bring the Tigers back to the top of college football in this new era. On the other side, Georgia Tech stinks and I have nothing more to say about it. Let’s go Clemson.
Boston College @ #5 Notre Dame – 11/14 at 3:30 PM EST, TV – NBC
I know NBC and Notre Dame have a partnership, but geez. The Miami game broadcast was one of the most biased things I’ve ever seen. Analyst Todd Blackledge seemed to only acknowledge penalties on Miami while constantly praising ND throughout the game. To be fair, Blackledge hasn’t been good for on TV for years. Also, didn’t he go to Penn State? Why is he so in love with Notre Dame? Whatever. I’m just glad I don’t have to watch any more football games on NBC. Also, I am not rooting for ND the rest of this season in order to boost Miami’s schedule strength. Screw that. Let’s go Boston College.
Cal @ Virginia – 11/14 at 3:30 PM EST, TV – ACCN
I have no thoughts regarding this matchup. After determining that, my mind immediately went to Stringer Bell’s fantastic 40-degree day speech from season three of The Wire. The actual quote has some colorful language, so feel free to look it up yourself if you want. I will reference what Google’s thoughts are on it: The Analogy – A 40-degree day is mediocre, bland, and entirely forgettable—not cold enough to spark extreme anger (20 degrees) or warm enough to celebrate (60 degrees). I think that sums it up nicely. Let’s go Virginia.
Louisville @ UNC – 11/14 at 7:00 PM EST, TV – ESPN2
The Cardinals are now 6-3 after a 44-17 beatdown of Ga Tech last week. Jeff Brohm’s squad has its eyes on finding a way on playing in Charlotte in a few weeks. I sincerely hope Miami has enough without Toney to make it. I think Wake Forest is good enough to win out and set up a rematch. I want that to happen. Sadly, we don’t always get what we want. Now having said all that, this is both the type of game that Brohm loses and Bill Belichick wins. That seems almost too perfect of a scenario to happen. But hey, you never know. Let’s go UNC.
Stanford @ Virginia Tech – 11/14 at 7:30 PM EST, TV – ACCN
The Hokies are yet another 6-3 ACC team. Coach James Franklin has to make sure his guys aren’t looking past The Cardinal to next week’s matchup with Miami at Hard Rock. I must admit I have only seen some highlights of Va Tech this season. There is some talent on offense; not sure about the defense. Stanford is 4-5 and closes its season at Cal and vs SMU. How about that for analysis? Rare insight from me. I really should be working for an NFL team at this point. Let’s go Virginia Tech.
See you next week!
