CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — It’s a no-brainer for Miami. A win at Syracuse this weekend will send the Hurricanes to next weekend’s Atlantic Coast Conference title game. A loss to Syracuse could end any hopes of winning a title and make a trip to the College Football Playoff a reality.
Clearly, Miami is well aware of the risks.
“If we don’t have this week, we don’t have next week,” Miami quarterback Cam Ward said.
In the final regular season game for both clubs on Saturday, No. 8 Miami (10-1, 6-1 ACC, No. 6 CFP) will take on Syracuse (8-3, 4-3). The Hurricanes are playing for a championship, and with a win Saturday and then a bowl game, the Orange could reach 10 wins in Fran Brown’s first season as head coach.
“Anytime you have a meaningful game late in the season, you did a lot of things right,” said Syracuse’s Kyle McCord, who plays Ward in a matchup of star quarterbacks. “If you look around the country, there are a lot of teams at this time of year who thought they were going to play for something big or something not so important. This situation, this game, and a great It means a lot to us that our opponent is coming.”
For many of Miami’s players, it will be their first time playing in a domed stadium like Syracuse. And when the hurricane reaches central New York, there’s a chance you’ll see some snowflakes in the sky or on the ground. This is also unusual, especially for someone from South Florida.
But at game time, we all know how things will turn out. The Dome will be as loud as it was in 1992, when Miami coach Mario Cristobal was the starting offensive lineman for a Canes team that was ranked No. 1 in the nation. At the time, he traveled to what was then called the Carrier Dome in order to maintain his title. A living hope.
“I remember being deaf,” Cristobal said. Miami won the game 16-10, but Syracuse’s final drive stalled at the 3-yard line and time expired.
Brown’s first season at Syracuse should be considered a huge success. The Orange were picked 12th out of 17 teams in the ACC preseason poll and could finish tied for fourth at best. His team won’t travel to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the ACC title game, but the team will have a say in whether Miami goes.
“I’m just excited to have The U back because it’s better for college football,” Brown said.
What are the chances of a finale?
If Miami loses, it’s very likely that the Hurricanes’ CFP trip will be eliminated and only the bowl game will remain. And Syracuse already knows it only has a bowl game left.
So this could be the finale if some players don’t select Bowles for the NFL Draft. McCord acknowledged that the risks and rewards of playing a bowl game are on his mind.
“To be completely honest, I would have loved to play in a (bowl) game,” McCord said. “We just have to finish the season the right way… but we have to make the best decision. So we’ll see.”
No.1 in terms of attack
Miami opened this week leading the nation in a number of offensive categories, including points per game, yards per game, yards per play, and third-down conversion rate.
So it’s no wonder Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson is in the running for the Broyles Award as college football’s top assistant coach. The Hurricanes ranked 96th nationally in points per game two years ago, rose to 38th last year after Dawson finished his first season in Coral Gables, and are now No. 1.
new rivalry
The two teams met 12 times in the 13-year period from 1990 to 2002 during the Big East era, but have only met twice since then. Miami won home games against the Orange in 2003 (17-10) and 2017 (27-19).
Syracuse will return to Miami next season.
orange crush
Miami’s defense didn’t allow a score on Wake Forest’s final nine drives last weekend, a huge improvement for a group that has struggled to stop the club in recent weeks.
Defensive coordinator Lance Guidry sprang into action immediately. There was no celebration this week for what happened last week, and there’s a good reason for that – the Orange can easily move the ball.
When asked why he didn’t laugh last week, Guidry paused and said, “Are you going to see this group’s upcoming movie?”
The Orange have scored 31 points or more eight times this season and are 7-1 in those games.
Why not us?
Syracuse hasn’t reached the AP Top 25 this season, and nine other ACC teams have, but Brown doesn’t understand why.
There are seven teams in this week’s national poll with records of 8 wins and 3 losses.
“I don’t know what it takes to be ranked anymore,” Brown said.
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