MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Officially, the College Football Playoff field gets announced on Dec. 8 and the first game of the tournament is on Dec. 20.
Those dates don’t really apply to Miami. For the Hurricanes, the CFP may as well start now.
A win this week means Miami’s playoff chances live on and a loss this week means hope is almost certainly over for the Hurricanes.
Meanwhile in Tallahassee, Coach Mike Norvell spent years slowly rebuilding at Florida State and then suddenly turned the Seminoles into a championship contender last season.
Their current recruiting class, however, is shaping up to be as much of a debacle as anything that’s happened on the field in the past three months. Florida State (1-9), the biggest disappointment in college football this season, has lost nearly as many recruits as games in 2024.
Norvell’s class is down to 11 after offensive lineman Daniel Pierre Louis flipped to Florida on Tuesday. Pierre Louis made the move after watching the Gators upset LSU on Saturday. The Seminoles also lost four-star quarterback Tramell Jones to Florida.
Now, FSU is looking for any momentum this week into its season-finale Nov. 30 against rival Florida.
In other matchups Saturday, UCF is at West Virginia, USF hosts Tulsa and Florida is hosting no. 9 Mississippi.
Here’s a closer look at this week’s games:
Wake Forest (4-6, 2-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) at No. 8 Miami (9-1, 5-1), Noon, ESPN
Miami plays host to Wake Forest on Saturday, now with little room for error after falling to Georgia Tech two weeks ago.
“We’re going to be locked in regardless,” Miami quarterback Cam Ward said. “We’re not really worried about no room for error. Play like that, you mess up. Even when you play good, you’re going to mess up at some point. So, that has no meaning to us.”
If Miami wins Saturday and again next weekend at Syracuse, the Hurricanes will be heading to the Atlantic Coast Conference title game in Charlotte on Dec. 7.
Charleston Southern (1-10) at FSU (1-9), 1:30 pm, ESPN+
The ‘Noles are last in the Atlantic Coast Conference heading into Saturday’s home game against lower-division Charleston Southern (1-10).
As much as the Seminoles have struggled this season, the FCS-Charleston Southern Buccaneers should not be much resistance for a much-needed second win of the year for FSU.
The Seminoles need as much confidence and momentum they can acquire heading into next week's matchup vs. Florida.
UCF (4-6, 2-5 in Big 12) at West Virginia (5-5, 4-3), 3:30 p.m., ESPNU
The Knights head to Morgantown, WVa. for their last road trip of 2024 regular football season on Saturday, needing to sweep their last two games to avoid missing a bowl game for the first time since 2015. History is not on their side Saturday because the Knights have played the West Virginia Mountaineers three previous times and lost all those games. It's the last home game for the Mountaineers seniors, and they are just 2-4 at Milan Puskar Stadium this season, their worst home record since 2019. The ground game could decide the outcome of this one because UCF, led by Doak Walker Award semifinalist RJ Harvey, ranks second nationally in rushing yards with 262.8 yards per game and West Virginia is 28th nationally but fourth in the Big 12, averaging 197.2 rushing yards. A victory would mark the 300th in UCF football history.
No. 9 Mississippi (8-2, 4-2 in Southeastern Conference) at Florida (5-5, 3-4), noon, ABC and ESPN+
Before Florida Athletic Director Scott Stricklin said Billy Napier would be back as coach next season, many Gators fans were hoping to attract Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin to lead their team. Napier and Kiffin coached together under Nick Saban at Alabama from 2014-16, but this is their first matchup as opposing head coaches. After a slow start to the season, Florida has outscored its past three opponents in the Swamp by 50 total points. All of Florida's losses have come against teams currently ranked in the AP Top 15. After a week off because of a left hamstring injury, Gators quarterback DJ Lagway returned last week to lead Florida over then-No. 21 LSU 27-16, knocking the Tigers out of the Top 25. Lagway completed 13 of 26 passes for 226 yards, including one touchdown. Mississippi's Tre Harris ranks fifth nationally in receiving yards with 987 yards, and he has missed the Rebels' past three games. He is expected to return this week. Mississippi is coming off a bye week. Former Gators defensive end Princely Umanmielen plays for the Rebels now and has recorded multiple sacks in his past three games.
Tulsa (3-7, 1-5 American Atletic Conference) at USF (5-5, 3-3), 3:30 p.m., ESPN+
Tulsa has won two of the last three meetings between these two foes, and took the last two by a total of seven points. USF will have to avoid that fate if it wants to secure bowl eligibility this week with a win.
Expect nother heavy dose of USF's suddenly potent rushing attack, which ran for a program-record 425 rushing yards in last week's 59-24 win at Charlotte.
The Bulls are coming into their home-finale winners of three of its last five games while Tulsa has won just once since late September.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.