Miami Hurricanes handed a massive gift after stumble against Georgia Tech
Football is a good bit like life, in some respects. Every now and then a second chance can drop into your lap. The question is: can you take advantage of it? That second chance dropped squarely into the laps of the Miami Hurricanes late on Saturday night. The Virginia Cavaliers upset the Pittsburgh Panthers 24-19 […]
Football is a good bit like life, in some respects. Every now and then a second chance can drop into your lap. The question is: can you take advantage of it?
That second chance dropped squarely into the laps of the Miami Hurricanes late on Saturday night. The Virginia Cavaliers upset the Pittsburgh Panthers 24-19 to open the ACC race back up again.
The Canes' 28-23 loss to Georgia Tech on Saturday afternoon appeared at first glance to muddy the waters a bit as far as their path to the ACC championship game. The ACC's convoluted tiebreakers appeared to give Pittsburgh the potential edge over Miami if both teams finished 7-1 in the ACC. However, the Panthers suffered their second ACC loss of the season, which puts the Canes back above them.
SMU currently leads the ACC at 5-0, with Clemson at 6-1 and Miami at 5-1. However, the Canes are in the driver's seat to Charlotte over the Tigers by virtue of a tiebreaker based on record versus common opponents. The Tigers lost last weekend to Louisville 33-21, who the Canes beat 52-45. As Clemson has not played and beaten Georgia Tech, that gives Miami the tiebreaker over the Tigers in a two-team tiebreaker if both teams finish with 1 loss in the ACC.
If Clemson, SMU, and Miami all finish 7-1, then the record vs. common opponents would still favor Miami over Clemson. The three schools have all faced Florida State and Louisville. SMU and Miami are 2-0; Clemson is 1-1.
As such, Miami's focus can solely be on the last two games they need to win to make the team's first trip to Charlotte since 2017. The Canes will get a bye week to rest up and figure out how to get their struggling defense back on track before they welcome a 4-5 Wake Forest team to Hard Rock Stadium on November 23. The Canes wrap up their regular season on November 30 at Syracuse.
Win those two games, and the Canes will still have a shot at an ACC championship and a playoff berth. That's an amazing position to be in after such a forgettable Saturday.
