Miami Tops Notre Dame, Leads ACC Power Poll

The Miami Hurricanes started the 2025 college football season strongly with a significant 27-24 victory over the No. 6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, positioning them as the No. 1 team in the ACC Power Poll alongside Florida State. Miami's defense, especially the secondary, has seen dramatic improvement due to strategic transfers and returning talent, which helped limit Notre Dame's passing game. ESPN analyst Heather Dinich highlighted the win as a key moment likely to boost Miami to No. 3 in national rankings and enhance their College Football Playoff prospects, emphasizing the importance of the head-to-head victory for tiebreaking scenarios. The ACC conference overall had a strong non-conference showing with a 12-4 record, including Florida State's upset over Alabama, marking the league as the only one with two wins against AP Top 10 teams that weekend. Other ACC teams like Clemson and Georgia Tech also contributed to the conference's positive start despite some losses. Miami’s win, combined with the conference's early success, underscores the Hurricanes' growing status as a playoff contender and reflects effective offseason roster improvements.