The Miami Hurricanes enter week seven at 2-3 and a loss in their only game against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents. After losing their opener in conference play, watching the rest of the division becomes more important.

The ACC only has eight of their 14 teams playing this week, so the Hurricanes have just three games between six ACC teams to pay attention to. And only two teams from the Atlantic Division are playing other than Miami and Virginia Tech.

With three consecutive losses, it feels like there shouldn’t be a reason to worry about what other teams are doing in the conference. But until they are mathematically eliminated from a chance at the ACC Championship game, we have to hope they can turn it around.

Even though this week has two games between Atlantic teams, the game between the teams out of the Coastal is extremely important. So who should the ‘Canes be rooting for?

Saturday, October 15

NC State @ Syracuse; 3:30 p.m.

The ACC currently has four ranked teams, all from the Atlantic division. The two lowest-ranked teams of those are NC State at 15th and Syracuse at 18th. Neither of these teams impacts Miami in any real way.

I am going to take a different approach to this game that most Hurricane fans can probably appreciate. The ACC as a conference has made teams outside the Carolinas (and Virginia to an extent) feel like second-class teams. So I think we ride with the Orange. Root against the establishment that is the ACC.

Clemson @ Florida State; 7:30 p.m.

If there were a reason for a Miami fan to root for Florida State, this would be close to it. But would it make a difference to the Hurricanes in any way for Clemson to lose? No, it wouldn’t. You would be rooting for Florida State to beat the fourth-ranked team in the country. And that would not be fun.

The only real reason to root for the Seminoles would be in a scenario where Miami needs a Coastal division team to lose an ACC game. Other than that, we root for Florida State losses, always. If there were any way for both the Tigers and Seminoles to lose this game, that is what I would be cheering for. But unfortunately, that isn’t possible.

North Carolina @ Duke; 8 p.m.

The most important game for the Hurricanes outside their own is between North Carolina and Duke. After beating Miami last week, the Tar Heels are on top of the division with two wins and no losses.

After losing the head-to-head matchup, getting a loss in their conference record is important to a chance at the Coastal title. With the Hurricanes still having their game against the Blue Devils later in the season and having a loss in conference play, it is much more important for North Carolina to lose this game.