When circling big games at the beginning of the season, I think we all ran out of ink after we got past the first four.
When those were over with, then everyone decided to paint North Carolina as an easy win when we were all more eager to talk about the possibility of a three way tie for first in the ACC Coastal. But hopefully it's dawned on everyone that, yes, Holy crap!, this is a big, big game for your Miami Hurricanes.
There's always excitement when the Canes take on former coach Butch Davis. Then there's always disappointment. Davis is 2-0 against the Canes (a team he racked up a 51-20 record with, despite never winning a national title), and the Canes are 0-3 in Chapel Hill. A win here, almost as much as any other win this season, proves that the Canes have finally turned the corner.
A Loss? Well, that puts a kaput on any BCS bowl series hopes.
We're desperately counting on middling Duke to somehow beat GT to get a shot at the Orange Bowl (though, even if that did happen we'd likely have to face a rematch against Clemson in the ACC championship). A chance at an at-large big, already low, would be dead in the water too. That's true against Duke next week, and an at-large chance would also be lost if we fell to USF, but more and more it's looking like this is the biggest challenge in the final three. They've got a top five defense, and did something this season we couldn't: Beat Virginia Tech. In Blacksburg no less.
Most analysts and oddsmakers predict a slim win for the Canes, but their enthusiasm for our chances is lower than almost any other top 25 team facing an unranked opponent this weekend.
That being said, assuming we win here's your handy rooting guide for what possible outcomes would increase Miami's chances of getting a BCS Bid:
- Duke over GT. Duh, but probably the least possible.
- Utah over TCU. It could keep both out of the BCS bowl series, freeing up a spot.
- Stanford over USC. USC is a favorite for an at-large, despite having the same record as the Canes. Stanford just destroyed Oregon, a week after Oregon destroyed USC. So, who knows.
- Notre Dame over Pitt. Yeah, rooting for the Irish, but Pitt is also likely in front of us in the at-large line.
- Ohio State over Iowa.&
