Miami's realignment talk draws a pushback as the 7-0 Hurricanes head to North Carolina

Miami is ranked No. 1, unbeaten and playing in the ACC, and its president keeps saying the school may not stay there. That argument now has a public rebuttal. In a USA TODAY Sports column, senior national college football columnist Blake Toppmeyer says the Hurricanes would be making a mistake to push for the Big Ten or SEC, because the ACC schedule is part of what makes their playoff route so clear.

The column answers university president Joe Echevarria's interview last week with Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports. Echevarria said Miami sits in college athletics' second tier. He pointed to a revenue gap with the two biggest leagues that he expects to grow when their media deals come up around 2030, and he noted the ACC's contract with ESPN runs through 2036. He said Miami lines up with the Big Ten academically and with the SEC geographically. He also criticized a provision in the Protect College Sports Act that would make a school moving between power conferences play three years as an independent. "You cannot lock us into a conference," Echevarria told Yahoo Sports. Dellenger reported that Miami is among the schools that have looked at football independence with possible media partners such as Amazon. Echevarria did not confirm those talks.

Toppmeyer's case is mostly about competition. He lists programs that moved up a league and then went through long stretches without a conference title or playoff berth, including Nebraska, Arkansas, Maryland, Rutgers and USC. He contrasts LSU's November run of Alabama, Texas and Tennessee with Miami's closing games against Duke, Virginia Tech and Boston College. He also points out that ACC playoff teams keep their own playoff payouts. In the Big Ten and SEC, that money is pooled and shared across the league.

Nothing changes for Miami right away. The House is not expected to take up the bill until mid-November, and any changes would have to go back to the Senate. For now, the debate gives Miami's season more attention, since the team's results are the strongest case for both sides.

What it means for Saturday at North Carolina

The Hurricanes are 7-0 and have scored 343 points while allowing 107, an average of 49 to about 15. Their recent results look like the schedule Toppmeyer describes: 52-23 over Pittsburgh, 43-35 over Florida State, 41-13 at Clemson and 45-6 at Stanford. The Florida State game is the only one decided by fewer than 13 points. Miami plays at North Carolina on Saturday, Oct. 31, on ABC. Coverage is on the Miami team page.

On this site's board for the game, Miami is a 14.5-point favorite across 12 venues. Novig lists Miami at -104 on that spread and North Carolina +14.5 at -102. Pinnacle has the best price on the Tar Heels' side, +15 at -115. The moneyline shows the biggest gap between venues. Novig lists Miami at -590, while Kalshi's -228 is the best Miami price anywhere. Novig has North Carolina at +525. The total sits at 52.5 on Novig, with the over at -108 and the under at +104. Hard Rock Bet has the best over price at -105, and theScore Bet has the best under at 53.5, -110. Sportsbook hold runs from 3.3% to 7.0% depending on the market.