No. 3 Miami's Bye Week Observation of Other Top Teams Around the Country

During Miami's bye week, other national championship contenders looked like quailities teams with high level opponets.

Sep 20, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Hurricanes quarterback Carson Beck (11) passes the football as Florida Gators defensive back Lagonza Hayward (2) attempts a block during the fourth quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

During No. 3 Miami's bye week, the country continued to move as normal, but with a few shockingly surprising shakeups that many didn't see coming.

The Hurricanes are still one of the many teams that are in a great position for the ACC championship and are viewed as a national championship contender entering week six. The Hurricanes not only have possibly two Heisman candidates, but they also have a chance to run the table and be the No. 1 team in the country heading into the playoffs.

But first No. 18 Florida State.

"Conference play is in full swing and it is playoff football. There were over 20 games that came down to one possession. The margins get smaller and smaller as you press forward and that is what you see across the country."

New Contender in the ACC?

The ACC almost saw an upset with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and did see one with the Seminoles dropping a conference game in double-overtime against No. 24 Virginia. The Louisville Cardinals are still underfeated, and after the Noles, the Canes will face them on Oct 17 in a Friday night matchup.

Cal is still a team that should be watched as well as the surging Cavaliers team.

Penn State and Oregon Look Like Great Playoff Test

James Franklin can't win a big game, and Oregon looks like a powerhouse. Just another typical Big 10 weekend in the books. The Hurricanes will have to go through one of these teams if they hope to reach a sixth national championship game, but there were also some fun alternatives. Indiana is still on a war path like last season, but a sleeping Michigan team with great experienced defense and a young but talented offense could be scary.

The Same but New SEC?

The SEC is weird this season. Vanderbilt is ranked higher than Alabama, and the best team in the conference right now is Ole Miss. Welcome to the new era of college football. LSU is still stuck with a bad run game like last season, which will cause them to have another 9-3 style of season but the team that should be on everyone's radar is Texas A&M and, shockingly, Mississippi State.

AP Top 25 Poll

(Ranking, team, first-place votes, record, points received)

1. Ohio State (46), 4-0, 1626
2. Oregon (16), 5-0, 1589
3. Miami (FL) (4), 4-0, 1529
4. Ole Miss, 5-0, 1354
5. Oklahoma, 4-0, 1313
6. Texas A&M 4-0, 1308
7. Penn State, 3-1, 1179
8. Indiana, 5-0, 1156
9. Texas, 3-1, 1071
10. Alabama, 3-1, 1057
11. Texas Tech, 4-0, 967
12. Georgia, 3-1, 965
13. LSU, 4-1, 838
14. Iowa State, 5-0, 830
15. Tennessee, 4-1, 697
16. Vanderbilt, 5-0, 640
17. Georgia Tech, 5-0, 549
18. Florida State, 3-1, 535
19. Missouri, 5-0, 528
20. Michigan, 3-1, 422
21. Notre Dame, 2-2, 333
22. Illinois, 4-1, 271
23. BYU, 4-0, 191
24. Virginia, 4-1, 125
25. Arizona State, 4-1, 107

Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University and is the site lead for the Miami Hurricanes on SI. He can be reached at Twitter @Justice_News5.

---

Follow all social media platforms to stay up to date with everything Miami Hurricanes-related: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and BlueSky.