MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — 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. No. 11 Miami (9-1, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 8 CFP) plays host to Wake Forest (4-6, 2-4) 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.”
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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. But coach Mario Cristobal’s mantra all season has been that no good comes from looking ahead. It has become cliche at Miami: “go 1-0 this week” is the phrase that has been uttered by players and coaches countless times.
“There’s too much going on in the outside world,” Cristobal said. “There’s too much clutter, there’s too much coverage and hype and noise to really do anything else but make sure your guys are focused on the task at hand. … Without a doubt, that’s been emphasized and that’s not going to change.”
There’s much on the line for Wake Forest as well this week. The Demon Deacons aren’t going to the ACC title game or the CFP, but an upset win Saturday and then a victory over Duke next week would get Wake Forest to 6-6 and likely to a bowl. Wake Forest didn’t make a bowl last year, snapping a seven-year streak of reaching one.
Wake Forest quarterback Hank Bachmeier (9) looks to pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game against North Carolina, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Chapel Hill, N.C. Credit: AP/Chris Seward
“Our practices are good. They’re lively. Guys are into it,” Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson said. “We have a bunch of guys that are in their last year of football and they’re trying to, in the words of Warren Zevon, enjoy every sandwich. And then you have some young guys that are playing for the first time ever that are just excited to be playing.”
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A rare matchup
Calling Miami and Wake Forest “conference rivals” is a stretch, since the schools haven’t played since 2013. Clawson is in his 11th year at Wake Forest; he’s had more ACC games against Stanford (one) and Cal (one) than he has Miami (zero). The schools next play in 2026 in what’ll be Miami’s first trip to Winston-Salem in 17 years. “I thought about all those years that they were struggling, and then the year we get them they’re 9-1,” Clawson said.
Injury watch
A trio of injured Hurricanes — cornerback Damari Brown, defensive lineman Elijah Alston and offensive lineman Ryan Rodriguez — are “close” to returning and could all be game-time decisions Saturday. Brown would be an especially key returnee, since Miami is getting very thin in the secondary. For Wake Forest, starting quarterback Hank Bachmeier is expected to play. He was knocked from last week’s loss to North Carolina because of an issue with his left shoulder.
Miami senior day
The Hurricanes will pay tribute to 27 seniors before their final home regular season game, including Ward, WR Xavier Restrepo, K Andres Borregales and ninth-year TE Cam McCormick — now healthy after years and years of dealing with injuries. “I wouldn’t have changed my journey. If I could do it again, I would do it again,” McCormick said.
Magic number: 31
Wake Forest is 4-0 this season when holding teams under 31 points, 0-6 otherwise. Miami is 9-0 when scoring that many, 0-1 otherwise.
In the rankings
The Hurricanes entered this week leading the nation in yards per game, points per game and yards per play, all a big reason why Ward is considered the Heisman Trophy favorite. He says Miami’s offensive line deserves more credit. “If you don’t have an O-line, you can’t do anything,” Ward said.
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AP Sports Writer Aaron Beard contributed to this report.
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VITALS: The Miami Heat (32-29) and Brooklyn Nets (15-45) meet for the second of three regular season matchups. Earlier this season, Miami recorded a, 106-95, win in Brooklyn on December 18 and has now won four of the last five overall against the Nets.
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It also marks the first of consecutive games against Brooklyn with the teams facing each other again on Thursday. The Heat are 83-61 all-time versus the Nets during the regular season, including 44-26 in home games and 39-35 in road games.
PROJECTED STARTERS
HEAT
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G Davion Mitchell
G Tyler Herro
C Bam Adebayo
F Pelle Larsson
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F Andrew Wiggins
NETS
G Nolan Traore
G Terance Mann
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C Nic Claxton
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F Michael Porter Jr.
F Noah Clowney
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INJURY REPORT
HEAT
Davion Mitchell: Questionable – Shoulder
Norman Powell: Out – Groin
Nikola Jovic: Out – Back
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Trevor Keels: Available – G League
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Jahmir Young: Available – G League
Vlad Goldin: Available – G League
Terry Rozier: Out – Not with team
NETS
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Nic Claxton: Probable – Thumb
Egor Demin: Out – Foot
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QUOTABLE
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra: “Regardless of the scheme is, I always go back to that, it’s just about committing to doing hard things. We were really moving in the zone, taking away airspace and scrambling to challenge shots at the rim. In a lot of these losses in the last month we’ve just been giving up shots at the rim and threes.”
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For more Miami Heat information and conversation, check out Off The Floor.
Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at Twitter: @tropicalblanket
ORLANDO, Fla. — Lionel Messi scored twice in a four-goal second half, defender Telasco Segovia added a goal and two assists and defending champion Inter Miami CF rallied to beat Orlando City SC 4-2 on Sunday night, winning for the first time at Inter&Co Stadium.
Messi took a pass from Segovia and scored in the 57th minute to tie it 2-2, and Segovia scored unassisted in the 85th for the lead. Messi put the finishing touch on the victory when he scored off a free kick in the 90th.
“The victory belongs exclusively to the players,” Miami coach Javier Mascherano said after the game. “In the second half, they were a championship team. There were no tactics, nothing like that. There was heart, courage, possession, resilience, commitment. I think the team came out because they were champions last year.
“In the end, the players showed it. This victory is theirs.”
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Messi’s first two goals of the season give him 52 in his first 55 regular-season MLS matches — 51 of them in his past 49 appearances. It also brought the reigning MLS MVP to 898 career goals scored, including 672 for Barcelona and 115 for Argentina.
“He’s the best player to ever play this sport. He’s a leader, and as a leader, he inspires others, but he also often needs to be inspired himself,” Mascherano said of Messi. “When he was driving forward, he had more attacking options, and with so many opportunities, he clearly has the ability to create chances like no one else, and that’s what allowed us to turn the game around.”
Marco Pašalić took a pass from Iván Angulo and scored in the 18th minute to give Orlando City a 1-0 lead. Pašalić has scored in four straight matches against Inter Miami.
Inter Miami players celebrate after scoring a goal against Orlando City in MLS.
Defender Griffin Dorsey set up Martín Ojeda for a goal six minutes later for a 2-0 advantage that stood through halftime.
Inter Miami cut it to 2-1 four minutes into the second half on Mateo Silvetti’s first career goal. Defenders Segovia and Facundo Mura had assists as the 20-year-old forward found the net in his fifth career appearance.
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Segovia had eight goals and six assists as a rookie last season, while Mura collected his first assist in his first season.
Dayne St. Clair, the reigning goalkeeper of the year, turned away three shots — all in the second half of his second start with Inter Miami, but let in a soft goal for Orlando’s first.
Maxime Crépeau had four saves in his second start for Orlando City.
Teenager Colin Guske, 19, will miss Orlando City’s next match after the rookie picked up two yellow cards in his first start — the second one led to his exit in the 88th minute.
Inter Miami, which had never won in its previous nine trips to Orlando, was coming off a 3-0 road loss to LAFC.
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Orlando City swept Inter Miami during the regular season last year and leads the all-time series 8-7-4.
Inter Miami plays D.C. United on Saturday at Audi Field. Orlando City is also on the road with a match against New York City FC.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this recap.
Rain floods Miami Beach streets, cut short Miami Heat Family Festival
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Much-needed rain fell across South Florida on Sunday, but the downpour quickly led to flooding and traffic headaches.
“The drainage systems aren’t the best but in ten minutes it will be gone,” one person said.
The rain lasted longer than 10 minutes, flooding several spots along Collins Avenue in Miami Beach.
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In one neighborhood, at least a foot of water blocked the entrance. Drivers who attempted to pass through sent waves crashing onto nearby sidewalks.
The heavy rain also snarled traffic on parts of Interstate 95 and on the bridges to and from Miami Beach, slowing drivers trying to get around the area.
“It’s Miami for you. What do they call it, a sun shower?” one driver said.
The weather disrupted Sunday plans for many. The 26th annual Miami Heat Family Festival was cut short after strong winds swept through Dan Paul Plaza, knocking over several tents.
There is no word yet on how or when the Miami Heat plan to make up the family festival.
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Brett Knese
Brett Knese joined the Local 10 News team as a general assignment reporter in March 2025.
