Miami, as the committee's highest-ranked ACC team last week, was eliminated from reaching the league title game after SMU steamrolled Louisville and Duke toppled North Carolina. Now, Pat Narduzzi's Panthers have kickstarted a possible doomsday scenario for a conference that could be excluded from the playoff altogether in two weeks.

Oct 18, 2025; Syracuse, New York, USA; Syracuse Orange quarterback Steve Angeli (9) looks on from the sidelines during the first half against the Pittsburgh Panthers at the JMA Wireless Dome. Angeli suffered a season ending injury. / Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

An Irish loss potentially would open an at-large spot for Oregon, USC or Utah, depends on how the teams fare down the stretch.

Redshirt freshman long snapper Joseph Vinci has handled his role without a hitch all year, doing the snapping for Notre Dame football's punts as well.

Fran Brown provided his outlook on the Syracuse Orange's potential despite the 70-7 blowout loss to No. 9 Notre Dame on Saturday evening.

Expansion for the College Football Playoff hasn't been agreed upon, and more time will be given to decide if the field will grow.

Behind them, the next wave of contenders is fighting through traffic. Notre Dame's demolition of Syracuse and Oklahoma's suffocating defensive performance have both pushed those programs to the verge of locking down playoff spots.