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...
UNC Has A Bigger Problem Than Just Losing To Notre Dame
Jordan Shipp gave North Carolina a reason to keep watching, and Billy Edwards Jr. found ways to keep the offense moving, but the larger picture from the Notre Dame game was hard to ignore. The Tar Heels showed a few flashes from key players, and Jordan Faisons work stood out on the other side, yet the game kept circling back to the same concerns that have shadowed UNC for stretches this season.
The rushing attack never found much traction, which put even more weight on the passing game, and the defense had its own trouble handling the Irish. For a team trying to sort out what it really is, the loss looked less like one bad afternoon than another reminder that the issues run deeper than the final score. [Read more 🡒]
Billy Edwards Jr. Is Putting UNC In A Tough Spot
Billy Edwards Jr. gave North Carolina enough to keep things moving against Notre Dame, but not enough to steady the offense. He finished 17 of 28 for 208 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions, a line that captured both the promise and the frustration around his play as the Tar Heels fell 37-26.
The turnovers were costly, and they also underscored a bigger issue for UNC: the passing game has not found the consistency it needs with Edwards at the controls. With the next week looming, he is already under pressure to clean things up and protect his role as the starter. [Read more 🡒]
ACC Teams Keep Winning But The Polls Still Say Otherwise
Miamis lopsided win over Clemson has only deepened the sense that the ACC has more quality than it is getting credit for this fall. Even with injuries on the field, the Hurricanes handled one of the leagues biggest names 41-13, a result that should have carried weight beyond the conference race and into the national conversation. Add in the leagues mixed but not empty out-of-conference rsum, including some victories over Big Ten opponents, and there is at least a case that the ACC has been better than the poll numbers suggest.
Still, the rankings have not budged much, and that is where the frustration really starts to show. Wake Forest, SMU, Pitt and Duke have all put together solid seasons, yet they remain either unranked or buried well below SEC and Big Ten programs that keep occupying the top spots even after taking losses. For ACC teams chasing respect as much as playoff positioning, the gap between what is happening on the field and what voters are rewarding is starting to look like the story of the season. [Read more 🡒]