With two weeks left in the regular season, Miami fans have one job and two (or more) screens. No. 13 Miami has to win out to finish 10-2 overall and 6-2 in the ACC, and then hope a very specific mix of ACC chaos and national upsets crack open a path to both Charlotte and the College Football Playoff.
Before we get into who Miami fans should root for, here's a simple start for Miami's quest to Charlotte: Miami beats Virginia Tech and Pitt, Duke takes one loss, Georgia Tech loses to Pitt and SMU drops one of its last two games. If those things happen, the Hurricanes will make the ACC title game based off of the projected tiebreakers.
On top of that, the latest CFP rankings have the Hurricanes sitting at No. 13, behind Oklahoma, Alabama, BYU, Utah and Notre Dame, among others. If some of the following outcomes happen, that could give Miami a much better chance at making the CFP. If they don't, it will still be tough, but not impossible.
Here is the Miami fan rooting guide for the final two weeks.
This is who Miami fans should root for in Week 13
First step for Miami: survive Blacksburg and keep the ACC path alive. Second step: Teams ahead of Miami in the CFP ladder take losses... with one exception.
- Miami over Virginia Tech — Miami has to handle its own business on the road. A dominant win over a 3-7 Hokies team would help the eye test and show the committee that they are building momentum.
- Missouri over Oklahoma — The Sooners are No. 8 in the CFP rankings and already own a win over Alabama. A loss at home to No. 22 Missouri would give Oklahoma a third loss and push another playoff contender behind Miami. Missouri also has three losses and shouldn't jump Miami in this scenario.
- Kentucky over Vanderbilt — Surprisingly, Vanderbilt is No. 14 and very much in the at-large mix. A home loss to a 5-5 Kentucky team would clear one more team from Miami's neighborhood in the rankings.
- Syracuse over Notre Dame — The committee has Notre Dame at No. 9 and still ahead of Miami despite the head-to-head result in South Bend. A shocking Irish loss on Senior Day would finally put that to bed.
- Kansas State over Utah — Utah sits one spot ahead of Miami at No. 12. A loss in Big 12 play would nudge the Utes out of the top 12 and open a lane for the Canes.
- Pitt over Georgia Tech — This is non-negotiable in every ACC scenario. Pitt beating Georgia Tech drags the Yellow Jackets back into the 6-2 (ACC record) scrum Miami needs to stay alive in the ACC title race.
- Cincinnati over BYU — BYU is No. 11 and a Big 12 playoff threat. A road loss at Cincinnati would knock the Cougars down a tier and complicate things within that conference.
- Maryland over Michigan — Michigan is No. 18 and still dangerous as a two-loss Big Ten brand. A home loss to Maryland would likely send the Wolverines tumbling. It would also prevent any sort of CFP consideration even if they upset Ohio State in Week 14.
- Oregon over USC — No. 7 Oregon is already well in front of Miami. It's better to let the Ducks stay in control and keep No. 15 USC from making a late jump over Miami.
- Louisville over SMU — From an ACC view, SMU has to take one loss in its last two games.
This is who Miami fans should root for in Week 14
If everything above breaks even halfway right, Week 14 should be fun. Just like Week 13, Miami will need to take care of business and defeat Pitt. Also, these outcomes are not completely connected to Week 13. A lot of these games are if these teams win this week.
- Miami over Pitt — Again, nothing else matters if the Hurricanes do not win out.
- Georgia over Georgia Tech — The rivalry now comes with new stakes. If GT loses big to Georgia, then that would prevent any scenario where the Yellow Jackets are an at-large bid.
- Kansas over Utah — Utah has to lose somewhere for Miami to rise.
- UCF over BYU — By this point, Miami fans are full UCF fans for a night. A Knights upset in Provo would shove BYU, currently No. 11, down and clear space.
- UCLA over USC — The Crosstown Showdown becomes another chance to keep USC from charging back into the top 12 as a Big Ten at-large.
- Ohio State over Michigan — The Buckeyes are already No. 1. From Miami’s perspective, it is better for an undefeated Ohio State to slam the door on Michigan's hopes than for the Wolverines to climb with a rivalry win.
- LSU over Oklahoma — If Missouri does not finish the job, LSU gets the last shot at giving No. 8 Oklahoma a third loss in Norman.
- Tennessee over Vanderbilt — This is a rare day when Miami and Tennessee fans are aligned. A Vols win over No. 14 Vanderbilt would erase the Commodores as a playoff threat.
- Auburn over Alabama — The Iron Bowl is already must-see TV. If Miami is still alive, an Auburn upset would almost certainly put a three-loss Alabama out of the 12-team field.
- Stanford over Notre Dame — A loss at Stanford would finally give the committee a reason to move No. 9 Notre Dame behind Miami.