Miami closed the gap on Notre Dame in both major polls Sunday, even after each team handled business in different ways over the weekend.
The Hurricanes climbed after a 41-13 win at Clemson, while the Fighting Irish stayed ahead with a 37-26 road victory over North Carolina. In the latest Associated Press Top 25, Notre Dame checked in with 1,532 points and Miami had 1,524. In the AFCA Coaches Poll, Notre Dame sat at 1,630 points and Miami followed at 1,622.
That tightened the race from last week, when Notre Dame held 1,581 points in the AP Top 25 and 1,641 in the Coaches Poll. Miami had 1,501 in the AP poll and 1,569 in the Coaches Poll.
The Hurricanes are off this week, while Notre Dame returns home to face Stanford on Saturday with a chance to widen its edge. Miami’s next game comes Oct. 18 against Florida State.
Before the two teams meet, Miami will also host Pittsburgh on Oct. 25 and play at North Carolina on Oct. 31.
Notre Dame, meanwhile, goes to BYU on Oct. 17 and hosts Navy on Oct. 31.
The showdown between Miami and Notre Dame is set for Nov. 7 in South Bend, a game that could carry major College Football Playoff seeding weight.
Both teams also have closing stretches that could shape how the committee views them. Miami finishes with home games against Duke, Virginia Tech and Boston College.
Notre Dame’s final regular-season slate includes Boston College, SMU and a trip to Syracuse. SMU stands out as a chance for Notre Dame to pick up a quality win.
Strength of schedule figures are another piece of the puzzle. Miami is 70th in ESPN Football Power Index strength of schedule, while Notre Dame is 61st.
Looking at remaining schedule strength, the Hurricanes are at 38th and the Fighting Irish are 51st. That metric is expected to matter when the CFP committee makes its decisions in December.
In Other News...
Clemson Gets The Reset It Needed At The Perfect Time
After the Week 6 bye, Clemson gets a chance to reset at just the right moment when Charleston Southern comes to Memorial Stadium on Saturday for a noon kickoff on the ACC Network. The break gave the Tigers a pause in the middle of the schedule, and now they return home with the kind of game that can help settle things down and get the second half moving in the right direction.
For a team looking to build momentum, this is the sort of matchup that can matter beyond the final score. Clemson does not get many clean opportunities to turn a reset into a run, but this one arrives with plenty of timing on its side, and the Tigers will hope it becomes the start of something more than just a routine return to play. [Read more 🡒]
Clemson Suddenly Has A Bigger Bye Week Problem Than Fans Expected
Clemsons bye week arrived with more than the usual list of self-scouting chores. After the loss to Miami, Dabo Swinney said the Tigers are spending the open date on recovery, personnel evaluation and cleaning up the mistakes that showed up in that setback, all while preparing for Charleston Southern. It is the kind of pause that should help in theory, but it has also become a stretch for the staff to sort through a roster that has been hit hard by injuries.
The latest concern is on defense, where Corian Gipson is out for the season and needs surgery, deepening a problem that has already thinned Clemsons options. There is also movement to track in the run game, with Jarvis Green unavailable for the next game and Jay Haynes positioned to matter more in the backfield rotation. For a team trying to steady itself after a loss, the bye was supposed to be about getting healthier, but it has increasingly become about finding who is left and how they fit. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Suddenly Faces A More Dangerous Florida State Team
Florida States 31-point win over Virginia gave Mike Norvell a reason to talk about more than just one Saturday afternoon. The Seminoles are 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the ACC, and Norvell made clear the bigger challenge is carrying that momentum into the stretch of conference games ahead as the season moves deeper into October.
The schedule does not leave much room to coast, with Louisville, Miami and Clemson all still looming in ACC play. Norvell also pointed to the need to get better on the road and keep pushing toward bowl eligibility, which adds an extra layer to every upcoming trip and gives the next few weeks a sharper edge than the record might suggest. [Read more 🡒]