Miami’s climb up the College Football Playoff rankings has been slow but steady this month. In Week 1, the Hurricanes debuted at No. 18. The next week, they jumped to No. 15, before last week landing at No. 13. And tonight, they’ll find out just where the committee slots them for Week 4.
Until then, Miami is content to simply control what it can control. And ever since a road loss at SMU on Nov. 1, the Hurricanes have been doing plenty of controlling on the field.
Quarterback Carson Beck threw for four touchdowns and passed for 320 yards last Saturday, as the Hurricanes (9-2, 5-2 ACC) rolled past Virginia Tech, 34-17, in front of more than 65,000 fans at Lane Stadium. The Hokies fell to 3-8, 2-5, and became the third straight league foe to be handled by a desperate Miami squad.
Despite a disappointing midseason slide — with two losses in three games — hope is still alive for the Hurricanes. They opened the year 5-0, and are finally back to playing with that level of consistency. In the past three weeks, in fact, Miami has defeated Syracuse, N.C. State and the Hokies by a combined score of 113-34.
While the run has impressed the CFP committee, the Hurricanes are still on the outside looking in at the 12-team field that will compete for the title next month. Rising into the top 12 will not be an easy task.
TONEY AND BECK CONTINUE TO CONNECT
Receiver Malachi Toney has developed quite the rapport with quarterback Carson Beck, and the duo clicked across every layer of Miami’s offense against the Hokies. The freshman wideout, an 18-year-old sensation, finished with 146 yards on 12 catches at Virginia Tech, adding a touchdown along the way.
That level of offense doesn’t happen overnight. What fans see on Saturdays is the product of hours spent aligning mind, body, and energy to execute at the highest level.
“We’re just on the same page,” Beck said Saturday. “That takes hours of work and conversation, meetings, film and all these different things that go on behind the scenes that not everybody sees.”
Beck opened the matinee game flawlessly, completing his first 11 passes before finishing 27 of 32 overall. Miami also leaned on a balanced supporting cast, with Elija Lofton, Mark Fletcher Jr. and Girard Pringle Jr. each finding the end zone.
“Just felt super comfortable out there, I thought the game plan was really good going into the week just in preparation from Sunday all the way through Friday,” Beck said. “We had a lot of confidence going into the game.”
REFUSING TO GET INTO A COMFORT ZONE
Knowing that their ultimate fate will come down to a committee vote, there is no room for satisfaction inside the Miami locker room. The Hurricanes, who take on Pittsburgh Saturday in the regular-season finale, know they are walking a narrow bridge. Each win is a step in the right direction, but one misstep could end their playoff hopes.
“We made a commitment before we left the locker room,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said Saturday. “There’s 70,000 people out there, but not a single person in those seats is going to make a play and they’re not going to bring energy for us.”
Despite the playoff buzz and the noise of a city swept up in excitement, Miami refuses to get caught in the distractions. The adrenaline of seeing highlights all over social media, the praise from national pages, and the celebrations inside the stadiums, can pull a team’s attention away, but not this one.
“If you allow yourself to drift and all the crazy fun stuff’s going on, the scoreboard, the people they’re honoring, it’s like stimuli from hell,” Cristobal said. “Let’s stick to playing football for those three and four hours and I think everything will be OK.”
PRIMED FOR THE PANTHERS
The CFP is around the corner, and while several contenders will have the luxury of playing in a conference title game in two weeks, it’s likely that Miami will state its final case on Saturday against the Panthers (8-3, 6-1). There is an outside chance Miami can land in the ACC title game, but it needs several outside factors to fall into place for that to occur. Regardless, one thing that is non-negotiable is that the Hurricanes must win the next game to keep their hopes alive.
And that next game is in an NFL facility, Acrisure Stadium, the home of not only the Panthers, but the Pittsburgh Steelers, as well. The Hurricanes only have to worry about the former on Saturday, and they are favored by 6.5 points to defeat Pitt. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. ET, and the game will air on ABC.
