The last hope for Miami to earn a College Football Playoff berth is as an at-large team. Wins by Duke and Virginia on Saturday eliminated Miami from a berth in the ACC Championship Game. The SMU loss at California created a five-way tie for second in the ACC that includes Miami.
Duke beat Wake Forest 49-32 on Saturday afternoon to finish 7-5 overall and 6-2 in the ACC. The Blue Devils won the tiebreaker for second with the other four teams to earn an ACC Championship Game berth. Virginia 10-2 overall and 7-1 in the ACC with a 27-7 win over Virginia Tech on Saturday night.
The quirky 2025 ACC season is reminiscent of the old Coastal Division. One of the two losses by Virginia in 2025 was 35-31 at North Carolina State in a game that did not count in the ACC standings. The Cavaliers have two losses to ACC opponents in 2025, but only one that counts in the conference standings.
Duke lost all three of its 2025 non-conference games versus Football Bowl Subdivision opponents. Turnovers have plagued Duke all season. Illinois finished plus five against Duke in a 45-19 win in September and Connecticut was plus three in a 37-34 win on November 8.
Virginia has clinched a spot in the ACC Championship Game, and thus eliminated Miami.
— Max Chadwick (@CFBMaxChadwick) November 30, 2025
The second spot will either be SMU if it wins or Duke if SMU loses. https://t.co/e4Dj2Ejfj1
Tulane beat Duke 37-34 for the Blue Devils other non-conference loss. The only turnover in the 27-18 Duke loss to Georgia Tech was pivotal. An Omar Daniels 95-yard fumble return touchdown gave Georgia Tech a 7-0 lead early in the game. Duke's other ACC loss was 34-17 to Virginia on November 15.
Virginia appeared to be in jeopardy of making the ACC Championship Game with a 16-9 home loss to Wake Forest on November 8. The Cavaliers finished the regular season with a three-game winning streak to clinch their spot in the ACC Championship Game. Duke was picked sixth and Virginia 14th in the ACC preseason media poll.
What is next for Miami?
With a berth in the ACC Championship Game over, Miami has to hope that its impressive win over Pittsburgh and close wins by Alabama over Auburn and Oklahoma over LSU against mediocre opponents help the Hurricanes rise in the College Football Rankings on Tuesday.