ARLINGTON, Texas — When the University of Miami’s football team left the Lone Star State after an overtime loss to SMU in Dallas at the start of November, the Hurricanes were at their lowest point of the season.
Having lost to an unranked opponent for the second time in three weeks, they were 6-2 overall and 2-2 in Atlantic Coast Conference play, which provided the Hurricanes a very dim forecast for making the ACC title game and/or getting into the College Football Playoff.
They missed the former but not the latter, and by New Year’s Day, after a Texas two-step in the 12-team playoff, the No. 10 Hurricanes (12-2) were a win away from a chance to play for a national championship at home.
“It means everything to this team,” said starting quarterback Carson Beck, a sixth-year senior and Florida native who joined the Hurricanes for his final college season after a five-year run with the Georgia Bulldogs. “This team has constantly battled through adversity, constantly fought. … We’ve banded together as one. We’ve shown unity. We’ve shown connection. We’ve shown that we’re a family.”
They also have proven to be quite deserving of that CFP berth they got without even playing for the ACC title. Miami made its playoff debut with a first-round win at No. 7 Texas A&M, 10-7 on Dec. 20 in College Station, then was back in Texas 11 days later to beat reigning national champion and No. 2 seed Ohio State 24-14 without a penalty in the Cotton Bowl quarterfinal on New Year’s Eve at AT&T Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.