The Miami Hurricanes finished the 2025 college football season with a 10-2 record, earning them the No. 12 spot in the final College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday.
Championship weekend saw two beneficial results for the Hurricanes: dominant Texas Tech beat No. 11 BYU in the Big 12 championship game and dominant Georgia beat No. 9 Alabama in the SEC championship game.
Still, these results may not be enough to guarantee Miami a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoffs.
ESPN college football expert Heather Dinich revealed her final college football playoff predictions Saturday night — and her predictions don’t bode well for the Hurricanes.
Dinich projects Miami to place 11th in the final College Football Playoff rankings, meaning one of the top-ranked conference champions (JMU/Tulane) will take its place in the 12-team field. Alabama is projected to be ranked 10th, with Notre Dame ranked 9th.
“With Alabama losing to Georgia in the SEC championship game, the College Football Playoff selection committee’s biggest decision Saturday night will be how far to cast the tide — and the outcome could mean the difference for Miami’s playoff hopes,” Dinish wrote in his analysis.
“Part of this depends on who the committee is comparing the Canes to – Alabama or Notre Dame. It’s well documented how close Miami and Notre Dame are. But what if the group compared Miami and Alabama side by side? Tide would have an advantage,” she continued.
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Miami and Notre Dame are both 10-2 heading into the College Football Playoff. But the Hurricanes picked up a head-to-head victory over the Fighting Irish to open the 2025 season. Despite that, Dinich believes the selection committee will give the edge to Marcus Freeman’s team, which has won each of its last 10 games.
Sunday’s qualifiers will begin at noon ET.
