Here’s what would happen if Hurricanes and Notre Dame finish tied for second in ACC
A six-pack of Miami Hurricanes notes on a Monday:
▪ Who would advance to the Atlantic Coast Conference title game Dec. 19 in Charlotte if Miami and Notre Dame finish tied for second in the league — a very realistic scenario?
It looks like a computer will get the last word. And fans of both the Hurricanes and Fighting Irish won’t be given any insight into why one team is chosen over the other.
If unbeaten Clemson and UM win out — and if Notre Dame loses to Clemson on Saturday in South Bend, Indiana, but wins every other conference game — then Clemson would finish first and UM and Notre Dame would be tied for second with one conference loss each. (No other team would have fewer than two conference losses in this specific scenario.)
The ACC’s first tiebreaker would be head-to-head, but UM and Notre Dame don’t play.
The second through fourth tiebreakers — which we list here — would settle nothing if this exact scenario plays out, meaning the fifth tiebreaker would resolve the tie, the ACC’s chief spokesperson confirmed to me.
That fifth tiebreaker is: Which of the tied teams has a higher ranking from the Team Rating Score metric provided by SportSource Analytics following the conclusion of regular-season games. (This is not the same ranking system used by the College Football Playoff.)
Officials with the ACC and with the Atlanta-based SportsSource Analytics declined to disclose the criteria that the company considers in ranking teams and which criteria carry the most weight in its formula. SportsSource Analytics also declined to reveal its current ranking of ACC teams, saying it’s proprietary information.
So basically, the company’s formula is as closely guarded as the ingredients in Kentucky Fried Chicken’s original recipe batter.
And that means that the team that loses the fifth tiebreaker would be compelled to accept the results without being given any explanation for how those results were formulated.
And what if UM and Notre Dame somehow end up with identical rankings in that fifth tiebreaker?
Then a drawing will be conducted by ACC commissioner John Swofford or commissioner’s designee. That’s the sixth and final tiebreaker.
Incidentally, Clemson is a six-point favorite in Saturday’s game at Notre Dame even though the Tigers will be without quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who is out after contracting COVID-19.
▪ Dee Wiggins has been the most disappointing of UM’s veteran receivers, and receivers coach Rob Likens acknowledged that “Dee had been struggling coming down with some contested catches. I challenged him with that, the room with that. You have to attack the ball when it’s in the air.”
Likens said coming down with contested balls “is a mindset. You walk across that white stripe, you can be the nicest guy in the world but you better put your hat on backwards, your hard hat and `I’d rather die than let that ball hit the ground or me not catch it.’
“You can develop that mindset. Our call for the wide receivers is ‘DBS’ — `Don’t Be Soft.’ The ball is in the air - go get it!”
What UM receiver is best at doing that?
“I don’t think we’ve been great at it in practice, and that’s filtered into games,” Likens said. “The last two weeks we’ve made plays in practice. I’d love to point somebody out, but I can’t do that right now.”
But here’s the positive with Wiggins: “I’ve been watching Dee and he runs overall consistently,” Likens said. “Dee has been running the best routes, most consistent routes out of everybody up to this point.”
▪ Likens on freshman receiver Keyshawn Smith, who has two receptions for 58 yards this season: “I think he’s one of our faster guys. Everybody knows that. If you want to know who the fastest DB is ask a receiver, the fastest receiver, ask a DB. Keyshawn can run, get behind people.
“I see an extremely bright future for him. He is a freshman, and this happens to a lot of freshmen: He has to learn to process all the information, and he’s doing a better job of that. Once he becomes just assignment sound then you’re going to see him take off as a player.”
Likens said of freshman Dazalin Worsham, who has no receptions and has played sparingly: “You never know [if he’ll play in], 2020 right? I’m very, very excited about Daz and I tell him that every day. I tell him `You’re going to be a really good player.’ Daz needs to get a little stronger in the weight room.
“As a coach you can’t get [everybody in the game when you have nine on scholarship]. He is coming off an injury in high school. He’s giving effort every day. I can’t tell if we’ll see him in a game. If no one gets hurt and things stay the way they are, probably not.”
▪ Safeties coach Ephraim Banda assessed where his four freshmen safeties stand:
On Brian Balom, who has missed the past week for a reason related to COVID-19: “Brian has done a really good job of preparing every week. The times he’s gotten in games he’s made freshman mistakes, which we all knew he’d make, but he runs and tackles which for us is a big thing.The problem with playing freshmen is they’re going to make freshmen mistakes. He’s been extremely good on special teams.”
On Jalen Harrell, who played some against Virginia with UM short-handed at safety: “I said `Your chance is going to come, stay locked in, urgent.’ He was going to play a lot on special teams, then all of a sudden is playing defense. He didn’t do what he was supposed to do exactly right, but when it was time to run and hit he made a couple of tackles.”
On Keshawn Washington, who’s deep on the depth chart at UM’s deepest position: “Keshawn has done an excellent job of staying locked in. Keshawn has been locked in with the game plan, practicing hard, looking for opportunities on special teams.”
Avantae Williams, considered the nation’s top safety prospect in the 2020 class, is missing the season with an undisclosed medical issue, but Manny Diaz has said he’s expected to play next season and Banda said Williams’ “attitude off the field has been really good. He’s staying engaged.”
▪ Quick stuff: ESPN assigned Jason Benetti and Andre Ware to Friday’s Hurricanes football game at North Carolina State.... UM’s one five-star commitment in the 2021 class (Plantation American Heritage safety James Williams) continues to be an impact player at the prep level; he recently blocked a 22-yard field goal and returned it 90 yards for a touchdown.... Per Canesport, UM made a surprise offer to no-star Texas-based Class of 2021 cornerback Marvin Covington, whose only offers as of last week were from Houston and Miami. UM - which liked Covington’s tape - has 22 nonbinding commitments and can take about 25 in its 2021 class.
▪ Hoops notes: Jim Larranaga doesn’t expect any of his five seniors to accept the NCAA’s offer and come back for another year of eligibility in 2021-22... Stony Brook transfer guard Elijah Olaniyi is not seeking a waiver to play this season and will sit out the year....
This UM team appears deeper, even with the loss of Sam Waardenburg to a season-ending injury. During media day on Friday, UM guard Kam McGusty also noted that the Canes are “more athletic this year.” McGusty, incidentally, admitted: “I wasn’t in good enough shape last year. That’s one thing I worked on this off-season.”...
Larranaga said without Waardenburg: “We’ll have to look at the possibility of playing small ball, because our guards are our most talented offensive players. We may need to play an Earl Timberlake and go small.” Timberlake, 6-5, is listed as a small forward but can play multiple positions.
This story was originally published November 2, 2020 at 12:48 PM.
