For years, Clemson has been the program that defined the ACC. The Tigers have the conference’s most College Football Playoff appearances, and they’re still the only ACC team to win national championships in the playoff era. But the balance of power has started to shift, and Paul Finebaum thinks Miami is the team now stepping into that spotlight.
Speaking on “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning,” Finebaum pointed to the Hurricanes as the program that has taken over the conversation around the league.
"I think this is the first time in a long time that Miami takes center stage," Finebaum said. "They played for the title.
They almost won it. They are now the face of the league."
That’s a big statement, and Miami has certainly given people reason to listen. The Hurricanes went 13-3 last season, reached the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history and advanced to the national championship game before losing to the Indiana Hoosiers.
Still, there’s a catch. Miami has long been one of college football’s biggest brands, but the results have not always matched the name.
Before the 2024 season, the Hurricanes had managed just one double-digit-win season since 2003, and they had not been especially competitive in the ACC. That’s part of what makes the recent surge feel so different.
Mario Cristobal has now guided Miami to back-to-back double-digit-win seasons, and the Hurricanes enter this year as the favorites to come out of the ACC again. The rise is real, even if the trophy case hasn’t caught up yet.
And that’s the one thing still separating Miami from fully claiming the league’s top spot. The Hurricanes didn’t reach the ACC championship game last season, while Clemson at least won the conference in 2024. Until Miami actually takes that step, it’s hard to say the Tigers have been fully passed.
So Finebaum may be getting ahead of the finish line a little. But the idea isn’t outlandish anymore. Clemson still has the recent titles, but Miami has the momentum, the brand and now the results to make this a legitimate conversation.
If the Hurricanes finally win the ACC this season, the debate over who owns the conference could be over for good.
In Other News...
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For Miami, the clearest winners are the juniors and sophomores who now have extra breathing room, while only a small group of players is directly touched right away. The bigger roster wrinkle is at the other end of the spectrum, where the rule now limits how many long-tenured veterans can even stay on the team, and that kind of cutoff could force Miami to make some uncomfortable decisions as it sorts out who fits the new model and who no longer does. [Read more 🡒]
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The real question is where each one fits best, and that decision could end up defining the lines balance. Miami has to sort out whether Okunlola is better protected on the outside or whether his frame and skill set translate inside, while McCoys experience gives the staff another option to consider at guard or elsewhere depending on how the pieces settle. However it plays out, this is the kind of battle that can quietly matter as much as any headline spot on the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Keionte Scott Just Revealed Why That Ohio State Pick Six Happened
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For Miami, it was another reminder that the defenses biggest plays are being built long before kickoff, with Corey Hetherman and the rest of the staff earning credit for having the unit ready for a high-level opponent. The Hurricanes also got a recruiting boost when Rivals bumped Donte Wright to the top spot among cornerbacks in the 2027 class, while the programs baseball pipeline added another note to a busy week with Daniel Cuvet and three teammates hearing their names called in the draft. [Read more 🡒]