Cote: Hurricanes rout NC State, but season is out of Miami’s hands now | Opinion
The Miami Hurricanes cashed one of their most impressive results of the year in Saturday’s home finale at Hard Rock Stadium with the 41-7 spanking of North Carolina State. The defense continued its national top-10 stamp on this season. The rankings voters should be impressed. Coach Mario Cristobal would have needed to seriously nitpick to conjure much criticism.
“Maybe playing the most complete team football of the year,” said the coach of this game.
But the big picture still haunts UM as the season wanes.
The acronyms continue acrimonious — the ACC and CFP still looking like long shots.
Getting to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game remains a near impossibility that relies on Miami winning both its last two games and a handful of other results obligingly falling in line.
UM still earning an invitation to the 12-team College Football Playoff seems more doable but not yet likely. But this is why we love sports, the original and best reality show. Let’s see what happens, shall we? In sports, miracles happens and hope costs nothing at all ... except perhaps your eventual disappointment.
The rout of NC State that puts the No. 15-ranked Canes at 8-2 (4-2 ACC) impressed because the Wolfpack came in a sneaky-good 5-4, having delivered the only conference losses to Georgia Tech — one of the teams UM is looking up at in the climb to the ACC title game.
Canes dominated, with massive defense including two interceptions by Jakobe Thomas — one returned 60 yards for a touchdown — and a nice blend of reliable running and three scoring passes by quarterback Carson Beck.
“Jakobe hitting that pick-six really started the tidal wave of momentum,” Cristobal said.
Wolfpack QB C.J. Bailey grew up in Miami in the shadow of Hard Rock and “dreamed of being a Hurricane.” Thomas alone made it seem as if Miami may have made the right choice in not recruiting him.
And by the way, UM’s Malachi Toney and Girard Pringle Jr. are two of the most dynamic freshmen in the country.
And by the way, The Sequel, Miami’s 2026 recruiting class is kicking a--. Cristobal can recruit. Can he lead Miami to its elusive sixth national title? TBD.
UM had pitched a shutout until NC State scored in who-cares garbage time.
“I think we’ll respond. It’s the only way to go,” Cristobal had said before this game. “There is no other way. There is no other choice.”
He got that right.
The problem is, Miami has lost control of its own season. A couple of slips will do that. It’s why we love football, and also hate it.
Two recent losses within three weeks at home to Louisville and then at SMU left the Canes’ fate to strangers.
Now, Miami must win next week at Virginia Tech (a small ask) and then at Pitt, which was ranked No. 22 before Saturday’s loss to Notre Dame — to finish 10-2 ... and pray.
“It’s all about one,” Cristobal said. ”One game.”
UM has put itself in this precarious spot. Nobody else to blame.
Cristobal’s team had set its own standard when 5-0 and ranked No. 2. Then came those two defeats, continuing a pattern of late-year swoons. And now here we are.
Do I think the Canes, right now, are one of the 12 best teams in the country?
Yes. Without equivocation.
The problem is, Miami has left its fate to the hands of folks like me. To those people wearing suits sitting in a boardroom who are CFP voters. Recall that UM finished 10-2 last year and narrowly missed that last CFP invite.
Is history repeating?
The Canes are really good. They just underlined that with an exclamation point on Saturday.
But if it doesn’t prove good enough in the end, there will be nobody else to blame.
This story was originally published November 15, 2025 at 6:58 PM.
