With a victory Saturday gainst Virginia, the Miami Hurricanes will become bowl eligible and take a giant step towards their first ACC Coastal Division championship. But the celebration may be short-lived.
By Sunday, UM (5-4, 4-2 ACC) could take itself out of the postseason picture. With the idea of softening potential NCAA sanctions relating to the Nevin Shapiro scandal, the university’s administration might choose to self-impose a bowl ban for the second consecutive season and turn down a chance at the Hurricanes’ first BCS berth since 2003.
Blake James, UM’s interim athletic director, said last week that no decision will be made until the football team clinches bowl eligibility by winning its sixth game. Last year, the school announced it would not participate in the postseason on Nov. 20, a day after the Hurricanes won their sixth game by defeating USF.
For the few seniors on UM’s roster, another self-imposed ban would sting. Not only would they be denied bowl trips earned in their final two seasons, but the possibility of playing in the ACC championship game on Dec. 1 in Charlotte, N.C. would also vanish. The ACC requires its two divisional winners to be eligible for bowl games so Miami must declare its intentions before the conference title game is played.
The Hurricanes could secure the Coastal Division as early as next Saturday if UM beats Virginia (3-6, 1-4) Saturday and Duke loses on Nov. 17 to Georgia Tech.
“Truthfully, I really don’t even know how to answer these questions because I haven’t really thought about not being able to go to a bowl game,” senior cornerback Brandon McGee said. “It would be a tough situation to deal with obviously, but I have three regular-season games left so I’m trying to make the most of these.”
Coach Al Golden said he’s not involved in the decision regarding a possible bowl ban and has not discussed the issue with his freshmen- and sophomore-laden team. UM is coming off its best performance this season, a 30-12 victory against Virginia Tech last week, and Golden is working hard to maintain that momentum and limit distractions.
“I’m sure it’s an issue,” Golden said. “It’s not my issue. I’m out of that conversation. That conversation is between our president, our legal counsel and the athletic director. I’m charged with getting a team ready this week, and ultimately to play well against the University of Virginia. … There is nothing else that we can control.
“We’re trying to prevent all excuses and anything external from getting in the way of what we’re trying to achieve.”
What the Hurricanes are looking to get done is win the Coastal Division, an accomplishment that has escaped the program since it joined the ACC in 2004. It would be ironic if Miami did win the division because, since joining the ACC, expectations had never been lower than they were this season. UM was picked to finish fifth in the six-team Coastal.
But before the Hurricanes can think of winning the division, they must beat Virginia. The Cavaliers have been a thorn in UM’s side recently, winning the past two games between the teams and four of the last six in the series.
“The facts are we haven’t won the Coastal and the facts are that Virginia has beaten us the last two years,” Golden said. “If that’s not enough to open our eyes as a team and organization to get us focused in on what we need to do in Charlottesville, then I don’t know what is.”
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