Miami is sitting in the kind of spot every playoff hopeful wants: almost in, and not by a little. According to ESPN’s Allstate College Football Playoff Predictor, the Hurricanes are at 93%, the highest mark in the country and one of only three teams above 90%.
Texas and Notre Dame are the others. Alabama is next at 88%, followed by Georgia at 85%.
The predictor, powered by the FPI, has Miami as a heavy favorite in six of its final seven games. It also projects the Hurricanes to win the ACC championship for the first time in football.
That setup makes the Nov. 7 matchup with Notre Dame even more intriguing. With both teams in strong playoff position, it raises the possibility that the game is less about survival and more about seeding - or even a preview of something bigger in January.
Still, there’s no reason to sell that one short. It remains the biggest game on Miami’s schedule, and another chance for the Hurricanes to show they belong in a tier above the Irish. But with rematches now a regular part of college football thanks to conference championship games, the expanded playoff and the current national title setup, this one could easily get a second life later on.
The ACC picture is where things get interesting beyond Miami. If you dig farther down the predictor, Pitt shows up at 28% and Wake Forest at 13%.
Undefeated Duke is not in the mix yet. The league does not get much help from the polls, which lean heavily toward the SEC and Big Ten, and that could matter under the new strength-of-conference metric.
Even so, the ACC has already shown it can shake up the bracket since the playoff expanded to 12 teams. Two years ago, Clemson got in by winning the ACC Championship Game and gave the conference a second bid alongside SMU. Last year, Miami represented the league even without playing in the conference title game.
So with the season nearing its midpoint, the door is still open for another ACC team to join Miami in the playoff field. The margin for error is slim, but the numbers could wind up working in the conference’s favor by season’s end.
In Other News...
Miami Fans May Need To Reassess These Stalled Hurricanes Names
Jordan Lyle, Jackson Cantwell and Vandrevius Jacobs were supposed to be among the more intriguing names on Miamis 2026 roster, but this season has been more about expectation than production. Lyles path has been disrupted by injury setbacks and a team suspension tied to an arrest, which has left the junior running back with limited playing time and sliding down the depth chart. Cantwell arrived as a five-star freshman offensive tackle and has still been unable to lock down a starting job, while Jacobs, a redshirt junior receiver, has been given a larger role without the kind of impact Miami had hoped for.
For a program that has tried to build real momentum around talent acquisition, those stalled developments matter because they shape what this roster can become beyond the present week. Miami has clearly put a premium on upside with all three players, but the on-field returns have been uneven, and each case has its own pressure point: health and availability for Lyle, readiness for Cantwell, and production for Jacobs. As the season moves along, those are the kinds of storylines that can quietly define whether the Hurricanes feel like they are developing depth or just waiting on it. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Just Strengthened Its Case As A Real Title Contender
After a bye week that did little to shake the national picture, Miami sits No. 3 in both the AP and USA Coaches polls, a spot that reflects how steady the Hurricanes have looked in the early stretch of the season. The ranking keeps them firmly in the College Football Playoff conversation and gives them a little more room to breathe heading into the kind of schedule that can either cement a contender or expose one.
Florida State is still looming among the rivalry games ahead, and that only adds to the weight of what Miami has built so far. The ACC has also become more crowded near the top, with multiple league teams showing up in the rankings, but the Hurricanes continue to own one of the longer runs inside the top 25. That kind of staying power matters now, when every week feels like a referendum on who belongs in the title chase. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Just Raised The Stakes On Its Unbeaten Start
Miamis unbeaten start has now come with even more national attention, as the Hurricanes moved up to a season-high No. 3 in the Associated Press Top 25 after Texas lost to Oklahoma. Under Mario Cristobal, Miami is still perfect and is carrying the kind of rsum that keeps getting stronger each week, even before the biggest tests on the schedule really arrive.
Florida State is next, and that rivalry game now carries the added weight of a team that has climbed into the sports top tier and has no intention of easing up. Around the rankings, Kentucky jumped to No. 15 and Florida dropped out after its loss to South Carolina, but for Miami the focus is on staying steady while the stakes around its season keep rising. [Read more 🡒]