It’s been a sour last month or so for Miami football. A 5-0 start that saw Miami right near the top of the polls and playoff projections has tumbled into a nightmarish stretch that put their playoff hopes
in doubt and their ACC title game chances somehow even more dire.
The selection committee’s initial rank of Miami at 18 last week – a complete joke, especially with Notre Dame up at #10 with nothing more than a 10-point win over USC to their credit – very much seemed to put the Hurricanes in a tough spot to climb back from in order to claim their first-ever College Football Playoff spot.
But Saturday was a very good day for the Hurricanes, and for those who still dare to dream, who still aren’t afraid to run up at Lucy holding the football, well, hope remains alive for the orange and green.
First, Miami finally shook off their own first half snoozefest and put it on Fran Brown’s Orange in the second half to win 38-10. That should look good enough for the casual voter/committee member.
But Miami got some big help for two ACC teams who sit above them in Virginia and Louisville. The Cavaliers lost at home to Wake Forest 16-9, which gave them their first ACC loss of the year (their other loss to NC State was a non-conference game based on having 9 ACC teams on their schedule this year). The Cardinals lost in overtime to California 29-26 on a walk-off, win-or-lose fourth down touchdown in overtime, which required guts that I couldn’t have shown in that moment.
BYU also took on their first loss, and as many Big 12 teams losing as possible down the stretch could be important.
For those looking to the polls today as perhaps a feeler of how the Louisville and Virginia losses might be treated, both fell below Miami, who moved up two spots to 16 in both polls. We’ll see how the committee handles the situation on Tuesday night, but since they thumbed their nose at head-to-head and ranked Notre Dame and Miami way, way further apart than they should have, there is a legit shot Miami gets the nod ahead of both UVA and the Cardinals.
We’ll find out then, but for the time being, for those cockeyed optimists, channel your inner Journey and don’t stop believing.
