For No. 8 Miami, the regular season finale at Syracuse basically is an ACC semifinal matchup

CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- — It's very simple for Miami. Win this weekend in Syracuse and the Hurricanes are going to next weekend's Atlantic Coast Conference title game. Lose to Syracuse, the title hopes are gone and so may be any realistic shot at the College Football Playoff.

Evidently, Miami fully understands the stakes.

“There is no next week,” Miami quarterback Cam Ward said, “without this week.”

No. 8 Miami (10-1, 6-1 ACC, No. 6 CFP) goes to Syracuse (8-3, 4-3) on Saturday in the regular season finale for both clubs. The Hurricanes are playing for championships, the Orange — with a victory Saturday and then in a bowl game — could get to 10 wins in Fran Brown's first season as coach.

“Anytime you get late in the season and you have a meaningful game, it means you’ve done a lot of things right,” said Syracuse's Kyle McCord, who will face Ward in a matchup of star quarterbacks. “You look around the country, there's a lot of teams who thought at this time of year they'd be playing for something big and something important that aren't. For us to be in this situation, this game and have a great opponent coming ... it means a lot.”

Playing in a domed stadium like Syracuse's will be a first for many Miami players. And there's a chance that the Hurricanes see a few snowflakes in the air or on the ground when they get to Central New York, another rarity especially for the South Florida natives.

But at game time, everybody knows what the conditions will be. The dome will be loud, just as it was in 1992 when Miami coach Mario Cristobal was a starting offensive lineman for a 'Canes team that was ranked No. 1 in the nation and went to what was then called the Carrier Dome looking to keep title hopes alive.

“I remember not being able to hear,” Cristobal said. Miami won 16-10 that day, Syracuse's final drive stalling at the 3-yard line as time expired.

Brown's first season at Syracuse has to be considered a smashing success; the Orange were picked 12th out of 17 teams in the ACC's preseason poll and may finish as high as tied for fourth. His team won't be going to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the ACC title game — but it gets to have a say in whether Miami goes or not.

“I’m just excited that The U is back because it’s better for college football,” Brown said.

Possible finales?

If Miami loses, it's very possible that there won't be a CFP trip for the Hurricanes and just a bowl game remaining. And Syracuse already knows it only has a bowl game left to play.

That means this could be the finale for some players, if any elect to opt out of bowls to prepare for the NFL draft. McCord acknowledged that the risk and reward of playing a bowl game is on his mind.

“To be completely honest, I'm going to want to play in the (bowl) game,” McCord said. “Just finish the season out the right way ... but you have to make the best decision. So, we'll see.”

No. 1 on offense

Miami entered this week leading the country in a slew of offensive categories — points per game, yards per game, yards per play and third-down conversion percentage among them.

That means it's no surprise that Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson is in the running for the Broyles Award as college football's top assistant coach. The Hurricanes were 96th nationally in scoring per game two years ago, then went to No. 38 last year after Dawson's first season in Coral Gables — and now, No. 1.

Rivalry renewed

The teams played 12 times in a 13-year span from 1990 through 2002 — the Big East era — and have met only twice since. Miami won home games over the Orange in 2003 (17-10) and 2017 (27-19).

Syracuse comes back to Miami next season.

Orange crush

Miami's defense didn't allow a point in Wake Forest's final nine drives last weekend, a big improvement for a group that has been struggling to stop clubs in recent weeks.

Defensive coordinator Lance Guidry quickly moved on. There was no celebrating this week about what happened last week, for a very good reason — the Orange can move the ball with ease.

Asked why he wasn't smiling last week, Guidry paused and said, “You watch the film of this group coming up?”

The Orange have scored 31 or more points eight times this season, going 7-1 in those games.

Why not us?

Syracuse hasn't reached the AP Top 25 this season — nine other ACC teams have — and Brown isn't sure why.

There are seven teams with 8-3 records that are in the national poll this week.

“I don't know what it takes to be ranked anymore,” Brown said.

------

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football