Well, here’s something I didn’t expect to be writing about this morning.
Miami have one final opportunity to win an ACC Championship Game.
On Monday, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced that this season’s championship game will be its final annual edition, bringing an end to a tradition that began in 2005. The decision comes as the College Football Playoff prepares to double from 12 to 24 teams for the 2027 season.
For college football, it’s another significant change to the landscape. For Miami, it creates a fascinating opportunity.
Twenty-two years without an ACC title
Miami joined the ACC in 2004, arriving with five national championships and a reputation as one of college football’s great programmes. Yet, remarkably, the Hurricanes have never won the conference’s football championship. Not once.
Their only appearance in the ACC Championship Game came in 2017, when Clemson handed Miami a painful 38-3 defeat in Charlotte. That’s it. One appearance in more than two decades.
For a programme with Miami’s history and expectations, that record has always been a frustrating one. Now there’s a final opportunity to change it in the Championship Game itself.
The last annual edition will take place on Saturday 5 December at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, with the ACC’s top two teams competing for the conference title and an automatic place in this season’s College Football Playoff.
Imagine Miami finally lifting that trophy in the very last edition of the game. That would be quite a way to make history.
What does the expanded playoff mean?
Monday’s announcement also confirmed a huge change to college football’s postseason. From the 2027 season, the Playoff will feature 24 teams rather than 12, with the first two rounds played on campus.
The new format reserves places for the champions of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC, plus the highest-ranked team from the American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, Pac-12 or Sun Belt. The other 19 places will be decided by the final CFP committee rankings.
More teams, more postseason football and more opportunities to compete for a national championship.
There is an important distinction, though. The ACC title isn’t disappearing. It’s the annual Championship Game that is ending. The conference has not yet announced how future champions and automatic qualifiers will be determined.
For Miami, the immediate implications are clear. They have one final chance to win the traditional title game before college football moves into another new era.
Duke just became even more important
And that brings us back to Saturday.
Miami are 8-1 following the defeat at Notre Dame, but remain unbeaten in ACC play. Their route towards Charlotte is still open.
Interestingly, the next opponents are Duke, the defending ACC champions. There’s also the added storyline of Darian Mensah and Cooper Barkate facing their former programme.
But beyond those individual connections, the significance is bigger. Miami cannot afford to let the disappointment of South Bend derail their conference campaign.
The Hurricanes need to address their defensive problems, protect Mensah more effectively and start games with greater urgency. Saturday’s Homecoming fixture against Duke is an opportunity to demonstrate that those lessons have been learned.
And with an historic conference title potentially waiting at the end of the road, the motivation should be obvious.
The Last Word from Across the Pond
I’ve spent the last couple of days thinking about what Miami’s defeat to Notre Dame means for the season. The unbeaten record is gone. The No. 1 ranking is gone. And some of the excitement surrounding a perfect regular season has understandably taken a knock.
But Monday’s announcement offers a timely reminder that there’s still an enormous amount to play for.
Miami have been ACC members since 2004 and have never managed to win the conference title. Now, after 22 years of trying, they’ve got one final opportunity to do it on the Championship Game stage.
What a story that would be.
The Hurricanes cannot change what happened in South Bend. But they can decide how they respond. And if that response eventually ends with Miami lifting the final annual ACC Championship Game trophy in Charlotte, I think we’ll all look back on this week rather differently.
The 12-0 dream might be over. But the opportunity to make ACC history is very much alive.
Duke first. Charlotte next. One game at a time.
