Inter Miami CF won the MLS cup this past Saturday, capping off a storybook run for Lionel Messi and The Herons. Arguably the greatest player to ever touch the pitch, the win gave Messi his 48th trophy of his illustrious career.
Established in 2020, Inter Miami CF immediately gained notice in part of its co-owner David Beckham, another legend of the game. However, things didn’t start great for Beckham’s new club. Miami struggled in its first few years, sitting at last place in the league, failing to win any hardware or make any big signings.
But things changed dramatically in 2023 with the signing of one man: Messi. It was the biggest signing in MLS history by far, but it wasn’t easy to convince the most beloved player in the sport to sign with a struggling club in a league which has never been considered world-class.
Messi’s ground-breaking contract included a share of Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass subscriptions, Adidas jersey sales and global merchandising, and the option to buy a minority stake in Inter Miami CF, all on top of a $50–60M/year salary.
But the deal has been worth every penny.
Messi brought along with him former star teammates from Barcelona, including Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba, and Sergio Busquets.
Once he signed, everything changed for Miami, and the entire MLS. Inter Miami gained millions of new social media followers in days, quickly becoming the most followed MLS team. Apple TV subscriptions spiked globally, and ticket prices for Miami games rose up to 1,000%.
Within Messi’s first month, he scored 10 goals in seven games, leading Miami to the 2023 Leagues Cup title — the first trophy in club history. However, the trophy everyone wanted was the MLS cup, awarded to the best team in MLS over the course of the season.
The road to the MLS championship is unlike other leagues around the world. Even if you finish atop the table, which Miami did, you have to play your way through five rounds of playoffs.
Messi’s run through the 2025 playoffs was vintage. He set a league record with 15 goal contributions (six goals, nine assists), earning 2025 MLS cup MVP.
Photo credit: Bryan Berlin via Wikimedia Commons // Lionel Messi during New England Revolution vs Inter Miami on July 9, 2025
The final was everything fans could have wanted. Miami took on the Vancouver Whitecaps, who finished second in the Western Conference with an 18-9-7 record. They beat Miami 3-1 earlier in the season, and had German icon and World Cup champion Thomas Müller.
Having the better regular-season record, Miami earned home-field advantage, which proved crucial in the final. Fans rallied behind Messi at Chase Stadium, chanting his name throughout the game, hailing him, and praising him like a god. Argentine flags flailed about in the stands which were painted pink with “Messi” jerseys.
The game was also Alba and Busquets’s last ever professional game. Both players are all-time greats and considered the best to ever play their positions, and everyone watching wanted their storied careers to end on a high note.
Within the first 10 minutes, Miami gained the lead thanks to Messi. He escaped two Whitecaps defenders on the sideline and flicked the ball downfield, ending at forward Tadeo Allende’s feet, which he clipped off a Vancouver defender and into the net to open the scoring.
After a Vancouver goal and another shot off the post, it was starting to look like Messi and company were in trouble, until the 71st minute. Messi pick-pocketed a Whitecaps player and perfectly slid the ball between two more defenders, landing at fellow Argentine Rodrigo De Paul’s feet before he slotted it home into the corner for the lead.
To cap off the game, it was more vintage action, this time from Alba. In the 96th minute, Alba played a long ball into the middle for Messi, who chested the ball and immediately volleyed it over the head of a Vancouver defender. As it always does when leaving the boot of Messi, the ball plopped right into the lap of his target man, Tadeo Allende, who had one man standing between him and securing Miami’s first MLS championship. He sliced the ball right through the keeper’s legs, perfectly capping off Inter Miami’s storied season.
Two assists for Messi in a vintage final performance, a beautiful ball for the last pass of Jordi Alba’s career, and just another trophy for the boy from Rosario, Argentina.
Photo credit: Bryan Berlin via Wikimedia Commons // Lionel Messi during New York City FC vs Inter Miami CF on 24 Sep 2025
Jamison DeLaine hosts an in-depth conversation with the University of Miami’s own Jocelyn Pringle, covering her transition to a new program, her growth as a content creator, and her bold plans to enter the world of WWE. Her story is inspiring, funny, and unforgettable. Don’t miss it.
On live national television, Notre Dame was humiliated in front of millions.
Sitting idly in their team facility, all they could do was watch as the College Football Playoff Selection Committee left the Fighting Irish as the “first team out” of the 12-team bracket. Despite being ahead of Miami in the previous five rankings, the Hurricanes vaulted in front of Notre Dame for the final at-large spot with the No. 10 seed.
South Bend was stunned.
Neither Notre Dame or Miami played a game over this weekend, yet the committee switched the teams on the last day after failing to do so for the last month, pulling the rug out from underneath the Irish at the last second.
And then came the bombshell.
In an unprecedented decision, Notre Dame announced they would be withdrawing from bowl game consideration and calling it quits on the 2025 college football season. But how can you blame them?
Although Notre Dame was wrong to bail on their season so disgracefully, the greater evil is the Selection Committee, which botched the ranking process and misled the Irish for over a month.
While the decision to include Miami and leave Notre Dame out was the correct one, the committee’s utter inability to show even a baseline consistency in their week-to-week judgements triggered the total meltdown by ND that the rest of the college football world now has to deal with.
Is abandoning the season before it’s over one of the softest things a team could possibly do? Yes.
Does it make them look like crybabies and whiny losers to the rest of college football for blatantly giving up when they don’t get everything they want for once? Yup.
Does it sabotage the young and overlooked players on their roster who are now denied their last chance of showcasing their talents on the field to prove they deserve a spot on the team for 2026? Sure does.
Is the committee completely justified in putting Miami above Notre Dame with both teams having almost identical résumés and the Hurricanes beating them head-to-head earlier in the season? Absolutely.
Running away from a bowl game is indefensible on a competitive level and the Irish deserve every joke that will be made at their expense. But, it doesn’t change the fact that the committee carried out procedural malpractice for weeks, setting false expectations with its own rankings and then reversing course without any reasonable explanation.
Notre Dame’s scorched-earth stance is the raw reaction of a program blindsided by a group of “experts” that couldn’t maintain its own standards, let alone justify a last-minute flip that contradicted a month of its own evaluations.
From their viewpoint, the Irish were used as a pawn in ESPN’s circus of a weekly CFP selection show that was nothing but a “farce and total waste of time,” according to ND athletic director Pete Bevacqua.
Ironically, all of this outrage comes despite the fact that the correct decision was ultimately made to leave Notre Dame out of the College Football Playoff.
But it was the despicably bad process by the committee along the way to this outcome that had led them astray since Nov. 4, giving them deceptive hope and leaving its fanbase rightfully upset.
This fallout could have been avoided entirely if the committee had done the right thing from the start and ranked Miami ahead of Notre Dame weeks ago. The head-to-head criteria had been in place since the weekly rankings began, explicitly outlined in their own bylaws as one of the most important factors to consider when comparing two teams.
All the committee needed to do was simply follow its own rules, yet it chose to completely disregard the guidelines.
The CFP committee finally came to its senses and recognized its mistake just hours before the final selection show, but by then it was far too late. Nothing it could say would be able to sufficiently rationalize why the members decided to change their minds so late when the decisive data point had been laid out in front of them from the beginning.
Thus, when Selection Committee Chair Hunter Yurachek was pressed to explain why he and his members waited so unforgivably long to flip Notre Dame and Miami, instead of doing it from the outset to avoid controversy, his answer was pathetic.
All he could say was that they were incapable of factoring in the head-to-head result until BYU were blown out of the Big 12 Championship, allowing the two teams to finally be compared with one another because they were now side-by-side in the rankings.
A laughable excuse that directly contradicted his statement from several weeks earlier, when Yurachek told ESPN they would be compared as soon as they were seeded within the same cluster of four teams. Not to mention they had already set the precedent of head-to-head being a valuable metric when placing 9-3 Texas over 10-2 Vanderbilt the week prior because the Longhorns had beaten them on Nov. 1.
That inconsistency was precisely what made this disaster inevitable. Had the CFP committee used common sense and slotted Miami ahead of Notre Dame weeks ago, the Irish would almost certainly be preparing to play in a bowl game right now.
Instead, the panel spent an entire month signaling that they were safely in the field only to yank that assurance away and pull the plug at the finish line.
Yes, Notre Dame’s decision to quit on their 2025 season was soft, petty, embarrassing and downright cowardly for such a self-righteous program that postures itself as morally and fundamentally superior to every other team and treats the rest of college football like it’s beneath them.
But, like it or not, it’s the predictable result when the governing body mismanages the process so badly and categorically destroys all their credibility by going back on their word to banish one of the odds-on favorites to win the national championship from the playoffs altogether.
Actions have consequences, and this one falls squarely on the committee. They created this mess, and now everyone else is left to clean up the chaos they unleashed.
The No. 5 seed Miami Hurricanes had their record season come to an end on Friday night, falling to the No. 4 seeded Kansas Jayhawks, 3-1, in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Even in defeat, UM’s star was in top-form. Senior Flormarie Heredia Colon notched 14 digs and 27 kills, ending her college career with 1,896 kills, more than any other Hurricane in program history. Senior Naylani Feliciano also surpassed 1,000 career digs with 14.
The first set started off neck-and neck with Heredia Colon notching a kill to tie the set at five apiece.
But right after, Kansas pulled away by going on a 5-0 run to make the score 10-5. During the run, Kansas senior Rhian Swanson had back-to-back kills.
The ’Canes never closed the gap for the remainder of the set as the closest they would come after would be when senior Dalia Wilson tallied a kill to bring the Kansas lead down to 16-13. The Jayhawks went on to win the set 25-17, closing with a kill by freshman Selena Leban, taking a 1-0 match lead.
Like set one, the second set started out with a battle with an ace by Wilson giving Miami a slight edge for a 9-8 lead. However, the Jayhawks, trying to replicate the first set, once again went on a 5-0 run, this time to bring their lead to 13-9.
Unlike the first set however, the Hurricanes responded to the run well. Their response was simple: they went on a run of their own. The ’Canes went on a 4-0 run, finishing off with a Heredia Colon kill to tie the match at 13-all. The remainder of the set was a back-and-forth battle with the score being tied late at 21 apiece.
Photo Credit: @Canesvb via X // Miami’s Women’s Volleyball team celebrates its third set win over Tulsa on Dec. 4 2025.
Unfortunately for the Hurricanes, it would be the Jayhawks who would make the finishing blow as they won four out of the final five points. Kansas would win the set, 25-22, bringing them one set from the round of 16, leading 2-0.
Miami started the third set off well, leading 3-2 after a kill by Heredia Colon. In need of a set victory to keep the match and its season alive, Miami controlled the rest of the set, winning three of the last four points, two coming off kills by junior Ava Carney and one by way of an ace from Feliciano. UM would win the set, 25-22, cutting the match score to 2-1.
The fourth and final set began in Miami’s favor with two kills by Heredia Colon and an ace by Wilson gave them an early 4-1 lead. The lead would not last long as a Leban kill tied it up at 5-5.
A 7-1 Kansas run gave them a 14-9 lead, but the ’Canes battled back for the rest of the set with UM even coming within a point of tying the match when they led the set 24-23. However, a kill by Kansas freshman Jovana Zelenovic tied the match and the Jayhawks then won three of the next four points to win the set 27-25 as well as the match, 3-1, sending themselves to the round of 16.
After the loss, Miami’s season comes to a close. They finished with a 27-6 (16-4 ACC) record, tying the 2002 team’s record for wins in a season for the program. This would also be the last time starters Feliciano, Heredia Colon and Wilson as well as other players, Jazmin Vergara and Lilou Stegeman, will wear the Miami uniform as they all will be graduating.
Heredia Colon will continue her volleyball career in Major League Volleyball as she was selected in the second round, No. 10 overall, of the 2025 MLV draft to the Columbus Fury.
Miami will have big shoes to fill next season.
Senior Flormarie Heredia Colon celebrates with her team following Miami’s win over No.4 Pitt on Oct. 10, 2025. Photo Credit: Canes Volleyball on X
After heated debate and weeks of anticipation, the wait is finally over and the debate has been decided. The Miami Hurricanes are going to the College Football Playoff as the 10 seed in the College Football Playoff bracket.
Miami got the nod over Notre Dame and BYU as the first two at-large teams out of the bracket.
Since Miami fell to two losses on the year, Hurricanes and Fighting Irish fans argued over whether or not Miami’s 27-24 win at the beginning of the season should factor in.
At the middle point of the season, Miami looked shaky with losses to Louisville and SMU — two respectable teams but games that Miami was a heavy favorite for. With those two losses, the Hurricanes were on the outside looking for the conference let alone College Football Playoffs.
But down the stretch, Miami played some of its best football of the season dominating teams and out scoring its opponents by 110 points through their last four contests.
While their two losses and some other tie breakers kept the Hurricanes out of the ACC championship, the team’s wins were impressive enough to keep the ’Canes right within striking distance. Then, when BYU was dominated in the Big-12 championship, the door opened up for Miami to finally get compared one to one with Notre Dame.
With similar strength of record, schedule, and nearly one-to-one resumes one thing was left to break the tie. Head to head — as Mario Cristobal has been preaching for weeks — was the ultimate decider in the Committee’s decision to put the Hurricanes in.
Miami, as the 10 seed in the bracket, will play No. 7 ranked Texas A&M at Kyle Field on Dec. 20 at noon on ESPN and ABC.
After a stagnant performance on both sides of the ball against mid-major Southern Miss, the Miami Hurricanes took care of business in the second half to remain a perfect 6-0 at home with a 88-64 win.
Despite the lopsided final score, it was the Golden Eagles who got out to an early lead with a 8-0 run.
From there on out, sloppy ball movement and poor decision making led it to be an ugly yet contested first half.
Southern Miss had 11 turnovers compared to Miami’s eight, but the Golden Eagles did have the hot hand from the field, making 50% of its first half shots compared to UM’s 35%.
A major storyline through Miami’s first 10 games has been the team’s inconsistency from beyond the arc. Some nights, like the last outing against Ole Miss, the shots fall, and others they don’t.
In the first half of the game, the Hurricanes went just 3-for-10 from deep, a 30% mark.
Despite Southern Miss leading 24-19 at one point Miami was able to tie the game 34-34 at half in parts to 13 points from Reneau.
“Our intensity, our energy, our effort was there in the second half and it was not there at all in the first half,” first-year UM head coach Jai Lucas said.
In the second half, Miami showed Southern Miss what it is like to play in a power four conference.
Freshman Shelton Henderson moved the score to 43-40 at the 15:49 mark, and from that point momentum fully shifted in favor of the Hurricanes.
And after a corner three from freshman forward Timotej Malovec to move the score to 47-44, the Hurricanes went on a 17-2 run.
After shooting 1-for-4 from deep in the first half, Malovec dialed in with 13 second half points, shooting 3-for-6 from behind the arc in an increased role.
“It takes time. I’m happy for those minutes,” Malovec said. “ I hope to do a good job, and we just have to wait for the guys to get back, and we keep stacking good days and getting good days.”
Miami’s shooting numbers were much better in the back half of the game, shooting 57% from the floor.
Senior guard Tre Donaldson continued his great play as point guard, registering his second double-double of the season with 12 points and a career-high 11 assists.
At the 1:44 mark in the second half Miami led by as much as 27 as they cruised to its eighth victory of the season.
The Hurricanes look to get healthy during their three non-conference games.before ACC play later this december.
Miami will be back at the Watsco Center on Dec. 13 to take on ULM at noon and will air on ACCNX.
UM head coach Jai Lucas talks to his team during a timeout versus BYU on Nov. 27 2025. Photo Credit: University of Miami Athletics
The Miami Hurricanes are hanging on by a thread. As Championship Saturday approaches, Miami doesn’t control its own destiny, and can’t play any games to prove to a group of 12 committee members that it belongs in the College Football Playoff.
Despite sitting at home in Coral Gables, steam has picked up on the Hurricanes, and their odds of making the playoff has increased significantly. Media members across the country are starting to put pressure on CFP Committee chairman Hunter Yurachek and the rest of the committee to give the ’Canes the last spot.
The door for the UM isn’t wide open. But it’s cracked – and Miami has every reason to believe that it can squeeze through.
A playoff-caliber résumé
The process to make the CFP is dependent on a number of factors, including head to head, strength of schedule, common opponents, and the subjective “eye test” that grades a team best on how they play on the field.
When looking at the remaining at-large teams between BYU, Notre Dame, Miami, and Texas, the Hurricanes have a legitimate case to take that final spot.
BYU is 11-1 and the committee has done no favors in telling the Cougars that a loss in the Big 12 Championship essentially eliminates them from the playoff.
However, BYU had an extremely weak out-of-conference schedule, with wins over Portland State, Stanford, and East Carolina. Miami and BYU have one common opponent, a Stanford team that the Hurricanes beat by a wider margin (42-7).
The Cougars best win is No. 15 Utah and their only loss is to No. 4 Texas Tech, where they lost 29-7. BYU likely has the best résumé out of the bunch but a loss on Saturday in a rematch against the Red Raiders will likely put the team from Provo out of contention.
The biggest discrepancy that has caused national attention all the way up to the highest level of American politics is the debate between No. 12 Miami and No. 10 Notre Dame.
The Fighting Irish have won 10 straight games after starting the season 0-2 and have a defense that has turned a corner and an offense led by strong quarterback play and the best running back in the country.
The two programs have very similar résumés too. Notre Dame leads Miami in the strength of schedule metric, although the margins are so tiny that it’s impossible to tell who gets an edge. According to ESPN, ND has an SOR of 13 and SOS of 42, while Miami has an SOR of 14 and SOS of 44.
The Irish and the Hurricanes hold four common opponents with each other; Syracuse, Stanford, NC State, and Pittsburgh, in which both teams went 4-0 in those games.
However, Miami beat those opponents by a wider margin than Notre Dame in three of the four games. ND’s 70-7 onslaught of Syracuse is the only common opponent that the Irish have an advantage over.
The Irish’s best win this season is No. 16 USC and is 2-2 against teams when they were ranked. Miami’s best win is a 27-24 victory over No. 9 Notre Dame on Week 1 in a game the Hurricanes never trailed. Against teams when they were ranked, Miami went 4-0, with wins over ND, South Florida, Florida State, and Pitt.
Wide receiver CJ Daniels reels in a one-handed touchdown against Notre Dame. Photo credit: Alex Muniz
Miami’s only blemish is that Notre Dame’s “quality losses” are stronger than the Hurricanes. The ’Canes dropped two out of three games between late October and early November against 8-4 Louisville and 8-4 SMU, games that UM lost by a combined nine points.
While the losses hold weight, Louisville and SMU are quality conference opponents that at one point were ranked. If SMU beat California to end the season, the Mustangs would have been the ACC favorite to win the conference.
When résumés are extremely similar and nearly all stats are the same, the factor of head to head has to matter. The game on the field has to matter.
Just because a game was played in late August should not penalize the team that won. Miami won and Notre Dame ends up getting more credit for its loss than Miami does for its win.
Miami’s win over Notre Dame ultimately should end the discussion. However, the Irish are the favorite to get the last spot in the CFP and not Miami.
Media members and Hurricane fans aren’t the only ones confused and annoyed by the committee’s lack of love for Miami and favor towards Notre Dame.
“If the University of Miami gets screwed out of the College Football Playoff after going 10-2 and beating Notre Dame, the whole thing should be scrapped and [President Trump] is gonna have to take over next year,” United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday.
Miami exits the tunnel at Hard Rock during season opener versus ND. Photo credit: Brian Mulvey
Peaking at the right time
When the Hurricanes suffered their second loss of the season on an overtime loss to SMU, Yurachek told ESPN’s Rece Davis that Miami needs to show consistency if it wants to make the 12-team playoff.
Most people wrote of Miami and the ‘same old ’Canes’ mantra came back to haunt Mario Cristobal and UM. But the Hurricanes fought back, and played their best brand of football since the beginning of the season.
In the four games that followed against Syracuse, NC State, Virginia Tech, and Pittsburgh, the Hurricanes played dominant football, outscoring their opponents 151-41, winning by at least three scores in each of those games.
Since SMU, the offense has totally transformed, with freshmen stepping up at the skill positions. 18-year old receiver Malachi Toney broke Ahmmon Richards 2016 record for the most receiving yards by a true freshman with 970 yards. He’s a Freshman All-American that can run, pass, and catch at an elite level and has played an integral role in the Miami offense.
David Lebowitz, Staff Photographer/ Freshman wide recievers Daylyn Upshaw (15) and Malachi Toney (10) celebrate after a big play on November 8, 2025.
Stepping up for midseason injuries to CJ Daniels and Mark Fletcher Jr., running back Girard Pringle Jr. and receivers Joshua Moore and Daylyn Upshaw have made their presenceses felt.
In his last four games, Pringle has put the rest of the ACC on notice, averaging 5.2 yards per carry and making explosive plays in the process.
After struggling in the middle of the season against Louisville and SMU, sixth-year redshirt senior Carson Beck is playing his best football since his 2023 campaign at Georgia.
In the last four games, Beck has completed nearly 80% of his throws, totaling 1,125 yards for 11 touchdowns and just one interception. Since suffering a torn UCL nearly a year ago in the SEC Championship game, Beck is back to 100% and has shown it.
Miami’s defense, a unit that was one of the worst in all of college football in 2024, is among the best in the country this season. Led by first-year defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman, and defensive linemen Rueben Bain Jr. and Ahkeem Mesidor, the UM defense is one of the most feared units in the country.
In an article from The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, an anonymous ACC head coach praised Miami’s elite defensive line.
“ND’s [Notre Dame] D-line is good, but it’s not Miami,” the coach said. “Their D-line is ridiculous. And that’s why Miami beat them. The trenches are where it all starts.”
Assistant Photo Editor Brian Mulvey // Junior defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr. (4) consistently found himself in the backfield versus the Florida Gators on Sept. 20, 2025
The Hurricanes defense is sixth in points allowed per game, seventh in rushing yards allowed per game, and 11th in the country in total yards allowed per game, at 13.8, 86.8, and 277.8, respectively.
As hall of fame head coach Nick Saban said “They’re [Miami] going to be the most dangerous team anybody has to play because of the talent level they have.”
Miami’s path
Although the path is unlikely, it’s still possible for Miami to sneak into the CFP. The best possible scenario for Hurricanes involves three conference championship games that puts the pressure on Yurachek and the committee to let the ’Canes in.
The only game that eliminates Miami from playoff contention is the Big 12 championship game between BYU and Texas Tech. If Miami wants to inch closer to Notre Dame and make the committee look at the head to head intensely, BYU must lose convincingly.
In the SEC Championship game, an Alabama win ultimately might be best for ’Canes. If the Crimson Tide win and BYU loses, the top nine is solidified and sets the best case scenario for Miami.
The Hurricanes would move up to No. 11 and Notre Dame would stay at 10. In the eyes of most, the head to head should ultimately be the deciding factor and be enough to push Miami over the edge.
If the Irish remain at 10, it could set up a dangerous precedent going forward for the committee. Teams may stop scheduling tougher out-of-conference games and will elect to stop playing Independent teams like Notre Dame.
The last game, the ACC Championship, could also cause chaos and favor Miami. If 7-5 Duke wins the conference over Virginia, both Group of Five teams of Tulane and JMU will get the nod over the Blue Devils, opening a world where there are no ACC teams represented in the playoff.
The committee could have a hard time imagining a 12-team playoff without a Power Four conference and could add the highest ranked ACC team, Miami, into the playoff over Notre Dame and BYU.
Ultimately, Miami’s fate will be decided by 12 men consisting of athletic directors, former coaches, players, and journalists that will confer in a hotel conference room on Sunday morning.
But, Miami has done all it could in the last month to prove its case to make the CFP and that still may not be enough. It would spell back-to-back seasons of 10 win seasons that end just short of making the bracket.
The College Football Playoff Show will air at Noon on Sunday, Dec. 7, on ABC.
David Lebowitz, Staff Photographer – Sixth Year Redshirt Senior Wide Reciever CJ Daniels makes an incredible catch over a Stanford cornerback on October 26, 2025.
If the college football regular season ended today, the Miami Hurricanes would be on the outside of the College Football Playoff looking in. Luckily for them, there’s one weekend left and they still have a chance of sliding in despite not playing.
The odds aren’t in their favor, with ESPN Analytics currently giving the ‘Canes a 10% chance to make the playoff, but there’s still a path. Here’s what Miami and its fans should be rooting for to give the team the best possible chance at clinching their first ever CFP berth.
Even though the Hurricanes were ranked No.12 in the latest CFP rankings, they still are not in the playoff because the No. 11 and 12 spots will go to the two lowest ranked conference winners. Therefore, they need to be in the top 10.
The first team they need to pass is No. 11 BYU. The Cougars are currently sitting at 11-1, but their only ranked win is against No. 23 Utah (now ranked No. 15). The Hurricanes on the other hand have four ranked wins against teams at the time of playing the game, with wins over No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 18 South Florida, No. 18 Florida State, and No. 22 Pittsburgh. In the current CFP ranking, the Fighting Irish are the only team still ranked, sitting at No. 9 in the nation.
BYU enters Saturday’s game as 12.5 point underdogs in the Big 12 Championship against No. 4 Texas Tech. A win from the Cougars would likely knock both Miami and Notre Dame out of the playoff, so a Red Raiders win is a necessity.
If BYU loses Saturday, the committee is likely to put the Hurricanes above the Cougars. This may not stand if BYU keeps it extremely close, but even then, the Hurricanes could slide ahead thanks to their stronger out-of-conference schedule and better wins.
In the event that Miami passes BYU, UM will be ranked one spot behind 10-2 Notre Dame. At that point, it will be difficult for the college football playoff committee to ignore the head-to-head game between UM and ND on Aug. 31 and could be enough for Miami to jump to the No. 10 spot. This scenario is likely the only avenue for the ‘Canes to make the playoff and even if it happens, may not be enough.
The Big 12 Championship game at AT&T Stadium Dallas, Texas is slated for a Noon kickoff and will air on ABC.
Brian Mulvey – Assistant Photo Editor // Redshirt senior James Brockermeyer waits to snap the football against Notre Dame on Aug. 31, 2025
No. 9 Alabama beat No. 3 Georgia
On Tuesday, the committee moved Alabama to the No. 9 spot over Notre Dame, all but solidifying the Crimson Tide’s chances of making the playoff unless something cataclysmic were to happen.
While a loss to Georgia on Saturday would put Alabama at three losses, don’t expect the committee to take the Crimson Tide out of the playoff. Instead, Alabama could drop to No. 10 and be the “buffer” between Miami and Notre Dame. Having Notre Dame at nine, Alabama at 10, and Miami at 11 will give the committee reason to not factor in the ‘Canes head-to-head victory over ND and keep UM out of the playoff.
But, if Alabama wins on Saturday, the top nine in the bracket is solidified, leaving one final spot for an at-large bid in the playoff. In the event a BYU loses and Alabama wins, that final spot will go to Miami or Notre Dame, which keeps Miami’s dream scenario alive.
However, in the event that Alabama were to lose by a significant margin to the Bulldogs, there is a world that the committee knocks out the Crimson Tide entirely and puts in both Notre Dame and Miami, but Hurricane fans shouldn’t rely on that happening.
The SEC Championship game at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. is set for 4 p.m. and will air on ABC.
Credit: Brian Mulvey – Assistant Photo Editor //
Miami and Notre Dame face off at the line of scrimmage during their game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. on Sunday Aug. 31
Duke beats Virginia in the ACC Championship
This is where it starts to get a little weird — If former Miami head coach Manny Diaz can lead his Blue Devils to a win this weekend, the ACC champion would be a 7–5 team outside the CFP top 25.
In the event that James Madison beats Troy on Friday night and Duke wins on Saturday night, the ACC will be without a playoff representative and could force the committee to consider Miami, the highest-ranked ACC team, as the league’s best option.
The ACC Championship game at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. is set for 8 p.m. and will air on ABC.
It’s a long shot, but if chaos reigns this weekend, Miami could sneak into the CFP for the first time in program history. The final bracket will be released at Noon on Sunday, Dec. 7, when the College Football Playoff Show airs on ABC and the Hurricanes fate will be decided.
Wide receiver CJ Daniels reels in a one-handed touchdown against Notre Dame. Photo credit: Alex Muniz
Growing up in the Midwest, the holidays always came wrapped with cold air and a fresh coat of snow. The cool crisp air and quiet streets blanketed in white snow made the season feel like the most wonderful time of the year.
But when I started college in South Florida, winter felt strangely incomplete. There was no snow, no cold or any of the familiar clues that winter was upon us.
At first it was disappointing. All that nostalgia that I felt for Midwest winters and the traditions that I had associated with the holiday season seemed out of reach. In places where the weather never changes, the usual markers of the season fades leaving me picturing bright afternoons on the beach instead of the familiar holiday scenes that I grew up with.
The contrast between the Midwest and South Florida couldn’t be more stark. In my hometown of Buffalo Grove, Illinois, winters meant scraping the ice off my car, seeing my breath in the morning and turning the nearest ditch into a place to sled.
Here in South Florida, the warmth, humidity and constant bright sunshine make winter feel less like a season and more of a milder extension of summer.
While Midwesterners decorate pine trees at the start of the season, Floridians wrap strings of colorful lights around the trunks of palm trees. Inflatable snowmen sit proudly on green lawns that may never feel a single snowflake. It’s festive, just not in the way that resembles the winters that I grew up in.
Adjusting to this environment took time. I found myself longing for the traditions and routines that I now realize were taken for granted. I missed warming up by the fireplace after coming in from the cold. I missed watching snowfall from my bedroom window and waking up to see the green grass transformed into all white after a night of heavy snowfall.
It felt as if the “holiday magic” that I grew up in had slipped away.
But over time, I began to understand that the holiday season isn’t just defined by temperature or snow. The longing that I felt wasn’t really for the snow, but for what the snow signaled. It reminded me of the family gatherings we had, the traditions that we celebrated and the comforting rhythm of a Midwest winter.
Slowly, I learned to stop measuring the holiday spirit by how cold and snowy December had felt.
Experiencing the holidays in South Florida has taught me something important, the season is shaped by people and not just the weather. The warm temperatures, palm tree decorations and unfamiliar routines that once felt strange eventually took on a meaning of their own.
I realized that the holiday spirit comes from the moments we create, and not just the scenery around us.
Even without the flurries, the holidays can feel just as special as in the Midwest — but just in their own unique South Florida way. While a part of me will always miss the magical snowy Decembers of my hometown, I’ve learned that holiday joy doesn’t melt away in the warm weather. Down here, students celebrate the season differently by trading snow days for beach days, swapping hot chocolate for an iced cafecito and enjoying long days on the boats over sledding on hills.
The traditions may look different but the spirit is still there; it simply thrives in the sun instead of the snow.
Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani defeated former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa to win the mayorship of New York City on Nov. 4.
Mamdani makes history as both the youngest and first muslim mayor in the city’s history. His campaign was strategic. He used social media, bold graphics and actively campaigned on the issues that mattered most to voters.
Republicans need to implement some of his strategies ahead of the crucial 2026 midterm election season.
Campaign Take Aways
Mamdani campaigned heavily on one key issue: cost of living. Unlike in the other races happening across the country, CBS noted that only 40% of voters found that Trump was a factor for them as they headed to the booth, compared to nearly 60% in the California Prop 50 initiative.
Mamdani’s policy proposals grabbed the attention of voters, with ideas including rent freezing, replacing police with social workers, city owned grocery stores and free child care. While a lot of his policy would require state or federal approval, they were bold and focused on issues that mattered to New Yorkers.
Republicans need to continue campaigning on the issues that won them back two branches of government. Issues such as crime, inflation, border security and school choice appeal to moderate and swing voters. If the GOP wants to compete they need to elevate these issues with the same clarity and consistency that Mamdani did.
Republicans should also embrace a growing faction of the electorate: Hispanic men. Trump made significant gains with this group by winning 54% of their vote. Perhaps bringing in younger and hispanic male candidates in communities where they are largely represented could help republicans make further games with hispanic women and eventually other minorities. It’s very possible to see Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the campaign trail for a slew of republican candidates, being the highest ranking hispanic person in the federal government and recognized by Trump as a possible successor.
Additionally, social media played a crucial role in Mamdani’s voter outreach.
The Guardian chronicled his videos and social media posts, noting how Mamdani appeared charismatic and his posts were polished.
His kickoff video featured him walking around NYC with upbeat music and pointing out how he could fix the issues he showed on camera. Another video captures him running the New York City Marathon, hitting all five boroughs, and delivering his message amid the exercise: “If you want to run for mayor, you need to go to every single borough … today we are the first campaign to hit five in a day.” These videos kept Mamdani in the public conversation despite starting in 9th place at the start of the Democratic primaries.
The campaign also featured strong visuals: bold letters and vivid colors which were chosen to evoke the city’s streets according to designer Aneesh Bhoopathy. Bhoopathy drew inspiration from colors that are typically found in the city’s bodegas, yellow cabs and hot-dog vendors.
The branding of the campaign also reflected Mamdani’s roots as a South Asian man, referencing Bollywood.
Republicans need to match this level of energy.
That means getting out on social media and crafting messages unique to their constituents. The issues that matter to voters in New York may not matter to voters in Kentucky, so it’s important to make sure they follow the trends in their area and ensure they have an effective message to their potential voters. Running youthful charming candidates who understand social media and its workings would make a huge difference.
Impact on 2026 midterms
The election occurred at the same time as the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. President Trump acknowledged that republicans in key races, including the mayoral race, could not meet the moment due to the shutdown. “I think if you read the pollsters, the shutdown was a big factor, negative for the Republicans,” Trump said the morning after the election at breakfast with GOP senators.
Polls have Democrats with major wins in 2026, with 46% of people polled saying they would vote blue compared to 39% for the GOP. Reuters also found that Democrats seem to have their groove and confidence back with 44% of them feeling ‘very enthusiastic’ about the midterms.
For the Democrats, the question is if progressives are willing to take on establishment figures and use the momentum Mamdani’s win gave them as the push to win control of congress.
For republicans, Mamdani’s win should serve as a warning. If he could beat a veteran Democrat like Cuomo, what are the chances for Republicans in purple districts or states?
The midterms will ultimately serve as a referendum on Trump’s second term. It’s only a matter of which party will meet the moment. Both parties need to adapt, sharpening their messages, mobilizing voters and meeting communities where they are.
