CBS Sports projects that the Miami Hurricanes will earn a berth in the 12‑team College Football Playoff, slotting them in as the No. 9 seed and pairing them with No. 8 seed LSU for the opening round.
In its recently released 2025–26 bowl and playoff projections, CBS placed Penn State, Texas, Ohio State and Clemson as the top four seeds, which are teams expected to earn first-round byes. Miami is among the seven at-large selections projected to fill out the remaining playoff spots.
There seems to be a growing confidence in Miami’s roster as the program builds from a 10-win 2024 season (10–3, 6–2 ACC) under coach Mario Cristobal, the Hurricanes’ best since 2017. CBS highlighted Carson Beck, the former Georgia starter now in Coral Gables, as a pivotal factor with his health and level of performance largely dictating whether Miami becomes a postseason contender or remains in the three‑loss plateau predicted at 8–9 wins.
Miami’s postseason trajectory is tied a lot to the College Football Playoff’s evolving structure. The CFP transition to a straight-seeding model, where the top four ranked teams earn byes regardless of conference title, could work in Miami’s favor as long as they finish among the top-ranked at-large teams.
Looking to the playoff matchups, Miami vs. LSU would be a marquee inter-sectional battle in the first round and give Miami the opportunity to punch above their projected seed. The other matchups include No. 5 Notre Dame vs No. 12 Navy, No. 6 Alabama vs No. 11 Iowa state and No. 7 Oregon vs No. 10 Georgia.
Another note: ACC context adds nuance with CBS’s best/worst analysis predicts Miami as the most reasonable ACC contender behind Clemson. The Tiger will enter the season as ACC favorites, while Miami’s ceiling opens up if Beck’s production meets expectations. As we stand in late July, Miami appears to be a hot pick for the CFP from most media outlets.