On Saturday, the Miami Hurricanes had much to prove. Not only were the Hurricanes encountering pressure to win against a transitional program, Virginia Tech, but according to those who are in the CFP committee and AP voters, the Canes not only had to win, but "win big."
Let's face it. Many knew the Miami Hurricanes could and would win the matchup between the Virginia Tech Hokies, but the question that the Hurricanes football program had to answer was "How wide of a margin would the Canes win by?"
Will Miami make the CFP?
Unfortunately, for the Miami Hurricanes, the victory over the Hokies might not have settled the question as to how dominant the Hurricanes would be against a program that many would deem as inferior to the Canes. Realistically, the victory over Virginia Tech did not prove a wide enough margin of victory, for the Miami Hurricanes to become considered in the field of twelve, in the College Football Playoff chase.
After the Notre Dame Fighting Irish's dominant defeat over a common opponent, the Syracuse Orange, which was a whopping, 70-7 defeat, unfortunately, it seems as though the Fighting Irish football program has significantly increased their resume for the CFP.
When one factors in, as well as compare the margin of victory that the Hurricanes had against the Fighting Irish, the Canes victory pales in comparison. When the Miami Hurricanes faced the Syracuse Orange on November 8th, the Hurricanes defeated the same common opponent, by the score of 38-10. Sadly, it appears that the Hurricanes will fall short again in the program's quest to participate in the College Football Playoff.
There are a plethora of scenarios that must take place in order for the Miami Hurricanes to play in the program's own conference title game. While many Hurricane supporters held on to optimism in recent weeks, the sad reality is the Canes appear as though they will not have any chance to finish ahead of the Fighting Irish, despite the Hurricanes capturing a hard-fought victory over them, in the beginning of the season.
Of course, no matter what occurs next week, the Miami Hurricanes could duplicate the same record the program recorded last season with a win against the formidable Pittsburgh Panthers. It is no secret that the ACC rival upsets the program experience, put the Hurricanes in a difficult and unfavorable position that sadly has been an uphill climb to capture.
There are great accomplishments the Canes achieved, during this season, but sadly and realistically, it appears that the Miami Hurricanes will once again come up short, despite the season potentially ending on a favorable note.