Miami Is Carrying Struggling ACC versus Power 4 Opponents and Notre Dame

Miami has two of the five wins by the ACC over Power Four Opponents and Notre Dame in non-conference games with victories over Florida and the Fighting Irish. The ACC has five wins and 12 losses against Power Four Opponents and Notre Dame in 2025 Non-Conference Games.

Miami beat Notre Dame 27-24 in its season opener and Florida 26-7 in week four before its first bye of the 2025 season. The other ACC wins this season over Power Four and Notre Dame were a 27-24 win by Georgia Tech at Colorado, a 31-17 Florida State win versus Alabama and a 27-14 win by California over Minnesota.

Between Miami's week one win over Notre Dame and the week three victory by California against Minnesota, the ACC lost eight consecutive games versus Power Four opponents in non-conference games in 2025.

Until the final week of the regular season, the next four opportunities for the ACC in non-conference against a major opponent are versus Notre Dame. Notre Dame hosts North Carolina State on October 11 and Syracuse on November 22.

Notre Dame plays road games at Boston College on November 1, Pittsburgh on November 15 and Stanford on November 29. The ACC plays the four traditional games against rival SEC opponents in the final week of the regular season, as they do annually.

Notre Dame has the second-toughest schedule nationally per the ESPN Football Power Index. Florida State has the toughest schedule in the ACC and the 20th nationally. Miami has the 30th toughest schedule nationally and is second in the ACC.

Georgia Tech hosts Georgia on November 28, which is the day after Thanksgiving. Florida State is at Florida, Kentucky at Louisville and Clemson at South Carolina on Saturday, November 29. Those four games and the four games against Notre Dame are critical as the ACC tries to avoid an embarrassing season against other Power Five opponents.