The nation's longest active winning streak will be on the line on Saturday night in Miami when the Hurricanes host Virginia Tech in Hard Rock Stadium for first place in the ACC Coastal Division.
The Hurricanes have won 12 straight going back to last season and currently hold a 1.5-game lead on the Hokies in the ACC Coastal standings with one game in hand. A win on Saturday night would move Miami within one game of clinching the program's first-ever appearance in the ACC Championship Game, but the Hokies aren't going into the contest expecting to be another chapter in a storybook season for their rivals from the Big East days.
It's been since 2010 that both of these teams have been nationally ranked and it's the first top-15 matchup between Miami and Virginia Tech since 2005.
Viewing information
Date: Saturday, Nov. 4 | Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Hard Rock Stadium -- Miami Gardens, Florida
TV: ABC | Live stream: WatchESPN
Storylines
Virginia Tech: The Hokies have been off the radar, nationally, since losing to Clemson at home earlier this season. But while wins over Boston College, North Carolina and Duke are justifiably not enough to draw headlines during a hectic October, Justin Fuente and Bud Foster have tuned this team up for a closing stretch that will define its 2017 season. Virginia Tech could win its next two games -- at Miami and at Georgia Tech -- and not only clinch the the ACC Coastal Division title, but enter the ACC Championship Game with an argument for the College Football Playoff as one of the country's best one-loss teams.
But it's almost equally as likely that Virginia Tech loses one of the next two games, or both, to fall out of the conference title and playoff picture. After winning 10 games and a division title with Justin Fuente in 2016, Virginia Tech was quickly returned to a position where such levels of success are the standard. Saturday's result plays a huge role in determining where this team stands at the end of the year.
Miami: Has the confidence built from four straight close wins become the foundation of a College Football Playoff run? The Hurricanes don't have a single win against a team currently in the top 25 of the playoff rankings, but their undefeated record has earned them consideration as a potential title contender as we enter the month of November. Miami hasn't been spectacular, but its been solid enough to stay in the hunt and with two more wins in the next two weeks -- both at home -- this grinding group will soon be in the thick of the ACC and national title picture.
Prediction
This feels like a game where Miami tight end Chris Herndon IV could end up being a difference-maker. When you break down both teams and look for matchup advantages, there are a lot of stalemates on the board -- the under is the play, if you're really looking for one in this game -- but I'm not sure the Hokies will have a good plan to shut down the rangy senior from Georgia in the midst of a breakout year. Still, my pick is going to be with the better quarterback and I think Virginia Tech is in a better position with Jackson than Miami with Rosier in the closing minutes of what I expect to be a close and low-scoring game . Pick: Virginia Tech -2.5
