MIAMI — The lone Power Four conference that didn’t get its champion into the 12-team College Football Playoff has a team that tied for second in the league’s regular-season standings playing in the national title game.
So much for the demise of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The league that looked most vulnerable a few short years ago when the latest round of conference realignment shook up college sports is apparently doing just fine.
The best proof comes from Miami, the second-place finisher in the ACC that became the CFP’s No. 10 seed and is 13-2 overall this season as the Hurricanes prepare to play No. 1 Indiana (15-0) at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Monday (7:30 p.m. on ESPN). While the Big Ten’s Hoosiers are seeking their first national title, the Hurricanes are seeking a sixth that would join those from the 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991 and 2001 seasons.
It’s a turn of events that, at least for now, has left in the rearview mirror the playoff rejection of ACC champion Duke.