Two teams ahead of Miami in the College Football Playoff rankings are road underdogs and a third is playing away from home in week 12. Miami needs to beat North Carolina State on Saturday and win at Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh in its final two games to stay in contention for a CFP berth.
ESPN College GameDay is in Pittsburgh for the first time since 2022 as the Panthers host Notre Dame. Notre Dame is a 12.5-point favorite on Saturday at Notre Dame per the Fanduel Sportsbook. Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi stated beating Notre Dame is not a must-win game, with the focus more on winning the ACC.
Pittsburgh is currently tied with Georgia Tech, SMU and Virginia at 5-1 in the ACC. Georgia Tech hosts Pittsburgh on November 22. Virginia is at Duke this weekend in a pair of games that will impact the ACC race. SMU has a bye before hosting Louisville on November 22 and finishing the regular season at California on November 29.
Miami needs near complete chaos in the ACC over the final three weekends to earn a berth in the conference championship game on December 6. The clearer path for Miami to a CFP berth is to win out and get help with losses from teams ahead of them in the rankings, beginning this weekend.
November 1️⃣1️⃣ College Football Playoff Selection Committee Rankings
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Alabama hosts Oklahoma as a 5.5-point favorite on Saturday. The Crimson Tide and Sooners kick off at 3:30 PM Eastern Standard Time. North Carolina State at Miami also kicks off at 3:30 PM EST. If Alabama wins as projected and Miami beats NC State, the Hurricanes would almost certainly move up one more spot in the CFP rankings.
Georgia hosts Texas as a 6.5-point favorite. The Bulldogs and Longhorns kick off at 7:30 PM EST. Miami would likely move up two spots with losses by Oklahoma and Texas while beating NC State. Texas lost to Florida, while Miami beat the Gators in the only common opponents between the teams in 2025.
The number one thing for Miami will be to remain focused on each of its last three games. If Miami does not win out, any of the CFP projections become meaningless. The path for Miami is clear. If the expected outcomes occur this weekend, Miami should be 13th in the CFP rankings released on Tuesday.