No. 4 Miami looks to stay perfect in battle with Georgia Tech

With every week that passes, the No. 4 Miami Hurricanes’ pursuit of their first Atlantic Coast Conference title and College Football Playoff appearance grows closer.After Tuesday’s CFP rankings placed the Hurricanes in the four-spot, Miami knows where it stands in the committee’s mind ahead of Saturday’s game in Atlanta against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.Miami (9-0, 5-0 ACC), one of the nation’s five remaining undefeated teams, was included in the CFP poll for the first time since 2020 and sits at its highest ranking since it was No. 2 in November 2017.The Hurricanes’ 5-0 conference mark has them tied with SMU atop the ACC leaderboard. Miami has only appeared in the ACC Championship Game once, a 38-3 loss to Clemson in 2017.Despite its perfect record, the Hurricanes haven’t gone through the season without a handful of scares. Miami rallied from a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit in its 38-34 win over Virginia Tech and a 25-point deficit in a 39-38 win at California before overcoming a pesky Duke team last time out. The Hurricanes trailed the Blue Devils 28-17 in the third quarter at home on Saturday before pulling away for a 53-31 victory.Behind quarterback Cam Ward’s 3,146 passing yards and 29 touchdowns, the 2024 season has brought back relevance to a Miami program that hasn’t won a postseason game in eight years.”I think our hunger is growing,” Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said. “We recognize what a blessing it is to be in November and playing very significant football. I think we understand the importance of focusing on 1-0 and nothing else matters besides our current opportunity.”The explosive Hurricanes offense leads the nation with 556.9 yards and 47.4 points per game. As consistent as the unit has been for Miami, its opponent this week finds itself on the other side of the spectrum.

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