The Miami Hurricanes looked like the one team that could potentially challenge No. 1 Ohio State's crown and return the ACC to its national championship prowess. The Canes stormed through the early portion of their schedule, including wins over Notre Dame, Florida and Florida State in which teh defense looked title-worthy while Carson Beck largely avoided the mistakes that had plagued him at Georgia. But that dream took a massive hit when the Louisville Cardinals swooped into Coral Gables and humbled folks at Hard Rock Stadium on Friday amid four picks from Beck.
Miami has now slipped all the way to No. 9 in the latest AP poll and isn't the highest-ranked ACC squad anymore. Georgia Tech moved up five spots to No. 7 to steal that honor, with the Virginia Cavaliers are also waiting in the wings at No. 16 with a potential path to their first ever College Football Playoff appearances.
But while it seems like Friday's upset was the beginning of the ACC cannibalizing itself and guaranteeing itself just a single CFP berth for the champion, it may have actually opened the door to a world of possibilities.
Miami's tumble has created opportunity for a multi-bid ACC in the CFP
Miami (5-1) surprisingly sits way down in ninth in the ACC standings after playing two conference games (1-1). The aforementioned Yellow Jackets and Cavaliers sit at the top with the conference's best chance to claim multiple bids to the College Football Playoff.
Georgia Tech and Virginia have yet to stumble in ACC play, which makes them seemingly destined to face one another in the conference title game. Miami doesn't play UVA this year either, and the Cavaliers beat Louisville earlier in the season, meaning the Hurricanes are going to need help if they want to guarantee a spot in Charlotte.
Virginia's common opponent tiebreaker gives it the edge over Miami, but there's still a greater chance than not the Hurricanes are still going to make the CFP from their ranking alone if they remain just a one-loss team. And that remains more than likely: Outside of a trip to SMU on Nov. 1, its hard to see another challenge to Mario Cristobal's team before the end of the regular season, with road dates at Virginia Tech and Pitt and home games against Stanford, Syracuse and NC State.
Odds are that Miami will still be there at 11-1 after Thanksgiving, which will be enough for the CFP even if it's not enough to get them to Charlotte. And now, Louisville's upset has vaulted them into the thick of the Playoff chase, while UVA snags a key tiebreaker over the Canes to potentially reach the conference title game. There needs to be a lot of turnover in the Big Ten and SEC for the ACC to get three teams in safely, but never say never. In all likelihood the two teams that play in the ACC Championship Game will participate in the 12-team bracket this December. Whether that includes Miami has yet to be seen, but in a weird way, this weekend's results may have helped.