Miami’s spot in the latest College Football Playoff rankings came with a little sting and a lot of noise. The Hurricanes fell six places after a close road loss without Malachi Toney, landing at No. 7, while Indiana slid despite not playing and UCLA climbed.
Wake Forest is the only other ACC team in the top 25, checking in at No. 13.
But when the bracket picture comes into focus, Miami’s path suddenly looks a lot cleaner.
If the season ended today, the Hurricanes would host BYU at Hard Rock in the first round. A win there would send them to Utah in a bowl game, and the next stop would be whoever survives the other side of the bracket: Kentucky, Texas or Alabama, with a title-game trip at stake. That setup drew a simple reaction: if that’s the road, take it.
Ahmmon isn’t bothered by the matchup list. He pointed to the kind of team Miami has built and the way it tends to handle unusual postseason games.
"I said this last year. The way our team’s built, we just play really well in some of these weird games," Ahmmon said.
"We’re a team that’s scratch and claw. We’re talented throughout the roster.
Wherever they put us, cool. Just handle business."
He does have one dream scenario in mind: a Notre Dame rematch at the Rock. That would require Miami to stay at No. 7 and Notre Dame to lose to SMU, but it would set up one of the wildest first-round games in a long time.
The bigger frustration, though, isn’t the bracket. It’s the logic behind it.
Last year, the conversation centered on quality losses, and that helped Notre Dame stay ahead of Miami. This time around, the Hurricanes have a close loss to the No. 5 team in the country without their best player, yet the committee keeps pointing to the lack of a ranked win on national TV. Ahmmon pushed back on that immediately.
"Are they forgetting we beat Wake Forest?" Ahmmon said.
Miami beat Wake Forest by double digits on the road, and Wake is now ranked No. 13.
His issue goes deeper than one ranking. He sees the system reinforcing the very outcome people expected before the season even started: a two-loss, maybe three-loss SEC team getting in. In his view, the committee is helping shape the argument it later uses.
"They’re the ones that rank the team," he said. "And then based off that, they say your schedule isn’t tough because you’re not playing any ranked opponents. Well, you’re the ones not ranking them."
The ACC, for its part, did not come out of Monday night looking especially strong. Miami sits at No. 7 and Wake Forest at No. 13, and that’s it for the league in the top 25.
The Big 12 has a much heavier presence, with Utah at No. 2, BYU at No.
10, Houston at No. 14, Arizona at No. 23 and Oklahoma State at No.
- Duke could have slid into the No. 25 spot, but that would have given Miami another chance at a ranked win, and the implication was clear enough.
The Big Ten didn’t exactly shine either. Its first team is undefeated UCLA, and it trails both undefeated Utah and two-loss Alabama. If someone had predicted before the season that an undefeated Big Ten team would be behind a two-loss SEC team in the second rankings, it would have sounded impossible.
Still, it’s early. Oregon jumped seven spots after beating Ohio State.
Tennessee moved up five. Notre Dame’s position makes sense.
There was also a look ahead to next year’s 24-team format, using this year’s rankings as a test run. That version would produce first-round matchups of South Carolina vs.
Oregon, Boise State vs. Indiana, Ohio State vs.
Wake Forest, LSU vs. Texas Tech, USC vs.
Iowa, Arizona vs. BYU, Ole Miss vs.
Houston and Missouri vs. Kentucky.
For Miami, the change would barely alter the road. Instead of just facing BYU, the Hurricanes would get the winner of BYU and Arizona. Utah would draw the winner of USC and Iowa, while the other side would add Ole Miss, Houston and Missouri to the Alabama-Texas-Kentucky mix.
And in the end, that’s the point Ahmmon kept coming back to: if Miami keeps winning, the ranking debate fades fast.
He raised the obvious question - if Wake Forest wins out and Miami beats the Demon Deacons in Charlotte, would the committee really leave a two-loss Wake team out? It could end up looking like BYU last year, with two losses to Texas Tech while Texas Tech got in. The SEC still has plenty to sort through, and conference title-game losses may be judged in ways nobody can predict.
For Miami, the formula is simpler.
If Wake beats SMU and keeps rolling, it could be a top-10 team by the ACC title game. If Miami wins out, the Hurricanes could be looking at a top-five seed, which would mean a home game or a bye.
The path is there. Duke, Virginia Tech and Boston College are all still ahead, with Miami favored by two touchdowns against Duke and Virginia Tech, and by an even bigger margin against Boston College. Then comes the likely rematch with Wake Forest in Charlotte.
Win those games, and the rankings noise won’t matter much at all.
In Other News...
Miami Still Has An ACC Title Game Path But It Just Got Tougher
Miamis path to Charlotte is still alive, but the margin for error is shrinking fast after the loss to Notre Dame. Sitting at No. 7 in the College Football Playoff rankings, the Hurricanes now have to take care of business against Duke and then watch the rest of the ACC scoreboard closely, because their fate is no longer entirely in their own hands.
The leagues key swing games are scattered across the weekend, with Louisville facing UNC, Clemson taking on Georgia Tech and SMU meeting Wake Forest. For Miami, the stakes are bigger than a conference race, since the ACC Championship game will be the final one before the College Football Playoffs move to a 24-team bracket, making every remaining result feel even more consequential. [Read more 🡒]
Miamis CFP Push Just Got Personal Against Duke
Miamis College Football Playoff push takes on a little extra edge this week with Duke coming to town, and the matchup comes loaded with familiar faces on both sidelines and in the lineup. Darian Mensah, who transferred from Duke to Miami after a legal dispute with his former school, is part of the storyline, while receiver Cooper Barkate is poised for a bigger role after another Miami pass catcher was injured.
There is also the matter of Manny Diaz returning to face the program he once led, this time as Dukes coach, which adds another layer to a game already carrying real stakes for the Hurricanes. With Miamis playoff hopes still in play, this is the kind of November meeting that can feel bigger than the standings, especially when the opponent arrives with so many personal connections. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Just Became A CFP Measuring Stick For Everyone Else
Notre Dames win over Miami has taken on extra weight in the College Football Playoff conversation, and the selection committee made clear why. Committee chair Hunter Yurachek pointed to the result as a signature victory that helped justify Notre Dames climb to No. 5, while also crediting the Irish for the way they controlled much of the game before Miamis late push made the finish more interesting.
For Miami, the bigger takeaway is how the Hurricanes are being judged as a benchmark team in a crowded playoff race, especially with the committee weighing their performance without injured Malachi Toney using limited information. The rankings are still being shaped by what other contenders do each week, but Miamis place in the discussion now carries the kind of scrutiny that comes with being the standard everyone else is measured against. [Read more 🡒]