Miami's 'wish list' for a playoff bid without winning the ACC laid out by a national analyst
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The Miami Hurricanes got some good news on Tuesday night in the second version of the College Football Playoff rankings, moving up to #15 and appearing in the bracket as the highest ranked ACC team. While it's unlikely to stick, as Miami has behind a number of teams in the ACC standings, it was progress for the Canes as far as fighting their way back to a possible at large bid.
So, what does Miami need to happen in order to potentially make the playoff field as an at large selection? CBS Sports' Chip Patterson laid out a "wish list" for Miami fans on the Cover 3 podcast on Tuesday night, and there are a ton of moving parts involved.
Miami might need teams ahead of and behind them to lose, per CBS Sports' Chip Patterson
"I built a wish list for an ACC at large or a Big 12 at large," Patterson said. "Notre Dame, any loss. Got to get Notre Dame out of there. Notre Dame is taking up an at large spot in the field. You get them out, you increase the opportunity for a Miami, you increase the opportunity for a BYU or a Utah, right? So any kind of at large for the Big 12 or the ACC I think has to start with Notre Dame losing. Pitt Panthers, you're up.
"I think you also need – ready, this is still on the wish list – Ohio State over Michigan, Oregon over USC. That essentially eliminates the teams that could be knocking on the door to add to the Big Ten total of at large bids to the College Football Playoff. Getting Michigan out, getting USC out.
"Then, if you are a Big 12 or ACC at large candidate of which Utah, BYU, Miami are certainly in this conversation, you want an Alabama blowout win against Oklahoma, and you want Georgia to beat Texas. Then, in Week 14, you want Tennessee over Vanderbilt and Texas A&M over Texas. You want Texas to not even have a – "we're the best three-loss" – no, you need them out of the paint because, if you are Miami, if you are Utah, the last thing you want is to have to fight that fight against Texas. Throw on the conspiracy theory hat, but they do have great record strength, strength of schedule, all those pieces. You can sit there on Sunday in early December and make the argument for a three-loss Texas Longhorn team as the last team in. If you are Miami, if you are Utah, if you are BYU, you don't want to be there. You need them to have four losses."
That's certainly a lot of moving parts, and I think Patterson is right about Michigan and USC. Both have the same record as Miami at 7-2, but both have enormous games against Ohio State and Oregon, respectively, that could vault them up the rankings at the end of the year.
Where I don't fully agree with Patterson is about Oklahoma and Texas. I don't think a blowout loss by Oklahoma to Bama is needed. Any loss to drop to 7-3 ought to be enough for the Sooners to fall below the Hurricanes.
As far as the Longhorns, they'd have a better argument than Oklahoma at 9-3 because they'd have a win over Georgia or Texas A&M, which would give their resume a very strong boost. They'd also have wins over Oklahoma and Vanderbilt to fall back on. But an ugly loss at three-win Florida should be taken into account as well, not to mention having three losses, which was curtains for teams last year with arguments over two-loss teams.
For the Hurricanes, at this point, it's about winning and taking care of their own business first, something Miami hasn't done well at all in November under Mario Cristobal. But if they can, an opportunity could be there for the Hurricanes to make their first-ever College Football Playoff appearance.
This story was originally reported by A to Z Sports on Nov 12, 2025, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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