Miami was having a perfect season, and then Week 8 struck the Hurricanes. Louisville didn’t get the memo that Mario Cristobal is going for glory this year. At 5-1, that 21-24 defeat has the potential to derail Miami. However, ACC’s scheduling also has a huge part to play in their fate. One team gets a benefit, while Miami is left to stare at a hazy future now.

Maybe after week 9, we’ll properly be able to gauge how far Miami stands from the playoffs. Even with just 2 losses, Mario Cristobal and Co. couldn’t make it to the final 12 in 2024. Now that the conference has become crowded with 17 teams, the scheduling has moved to a rotational format. It was primarily done so to keep rivalries alive. But it threatens to cost Miami its playoff spot.

The rotational scheduling has also forced conference mates to play as non-conference opponents. Virginia and NC State, for example, played as non-conference teams since they don’t treat each other as regular/frequent opponents. UVA saved itself a lot of trouble with this move despite losing to NC State. The loss won’t be counted in the conference rankings for Virginia, since it was played outside the league. Miami, sadly, has no such advantage. The Louisville loss will be a factor in where they end up in the ACC.

And there’s the allotment of the bye weeks. They’d be stuffed into a 3-week span, messing up Miami’s hope of emerging as conference toppers. This period of being away, and the Louisville loss, has pushed Miami down low in the conference standings. Entering Week 8, Louisville was only the second conference program Miami was playing. Now, Georgia Tech, SMU, and Virginia have become the top contenders for the conference championship game. Miami also doesn’t play any more weighted games in the remainder of the schedule. That’s why a lot of work has to be done for the Hurricanes to come back up and bag a spot at the playoffs.

The goal for Miami here is to avoid losses at all costs. A 1-1 record in the ACC has already added a dent to its playoff hopes. While it is difficult to keep a 1-loss team out of the berth, it gets tricky for Miami to make a good-enough mark when the time comes. Mario Cristobal and Co. leave the state for the first time in the season in November. This last leg of the schedule is where the true test begins for Cristobal.

Miami first has to deal with Stanford, which looks like a winnable game on paper. Stanford comes in as a mixed bag of sorts, since they just pulled off an upset over FSU. But the Cardinals have lost all of their away games. Then Cristobal faces SMU on the road, which will be a fierce challenge. That is followed by two home games against NC State and Syracuse. The Orange will be a bitter reminder, since it pushed Miami out of the playoffs last year. The last two games—VT and Pittsburgh—are what will seal the deal for Cristobal. They are going to be cold outings for the Hurricanes and will be a serious climb.

However, Mario Cristobal has also done some things right. They should do a lot to keep Miami alive for playoff contention.

Mario Cristobal can still present a strong case to make the playoffs

Despite their loss, Mario Cristobal has a defining win over Notre Dame. This was already slated to be the game that sets the tone for the rest of the season. And it also seriously impacted Miami’s hopes for the playoffs. Notre Dame was a non-conference game at home. But since Miami no longer has any more non-conference games scheduled, it can’t afford to lose in this stretch of games. The program could only bring in 2 losses to still have a best-case scenario after the season, but one of them had to be Notre Dame or Florida. Miami has won both, which funnily complicates things.

However, Miami also owning the state of Florida could stand as a deciding factor. The way in which the Hurricanes won that set of games convinced fans that Miami was going to the playoffs. Also, Miami’s roster is way too good to be ignored by the committee. This was a team that was No. 2 in the AP poll for a long time.

It is at this time of the year that Miami blew it last time. Once again, because of the teams’ own fallacies in Week 8, that same situation prevails. Will the Hurricanes be able to guarantee an appearance as a playoff qualifier at the Hard Rock anytime soon?