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The No.9 Hurricanes begin a three-game winning streak at Blacksburg on Saturday (12:00 p.m., ESPN) in hopes of continuing their wins to remain in contention for a spot in the ACC Championship game.
No.2 Notre-Dame (7-0, 6-0 ACC) and No.4 Clemson (7-1, 6-1) lead the standings for the two places for the title match.
Miami (6-1, 5-1) is in third place while this week’s opponent Virginia Tech (4-3, 4-2) is fifth and probably needs to win to have a shot. North Carolina (5-2, 5-2), Miami’s last regular season opponent, is in fourth place.
“I told them (Sunday) night that we called the ACC and asked them what the tiebreaker was and they said go 1-0 this week, that’s it, that’s all we can control ”, head coach Manny Diaz said. “I joke when I say that, but nothing matters. If we discuss what December will look like, we will be beaten in November.
Jokes aside, the Hurricanes stand a chance, but are not in control of their own destiny. They don’t face Notre Dame this year and losing to Clemson last month they don’t own the tiebreaker with the Tigers.
“Our guys did a really good job of (staying focused),” Diaz said. “Every week we have the goal and see where the league is. When we’re done talking about it, we don’t talk about it the rest of the week and everything goes to beat Virginia Tech. Winning on the road in our league is enough for us to focus.
The Hurricanes have four more CCA games on the schedule. A home game against Georgia Tech (2-5, 2-4) and a game at Wake Forest (4-2, 3-2) are sandwiched between the Virginia Tech and North Carolina games.
Winning all four would only give Miami its second 10-game winning season since 2003 and that would be a major accomplishment after going 6-7 in Diaz’s first season, even if the Hurricanes miss the ACC championship game. in Charlotte, North Carolina on December. 19.
However, instead of looking ahead for the last four games, Diaz and his team are working to keep the team focused on a 1-0 score this week.
They will face a team from Virginia Tech which just lost 38-35 to No.22 Liberty. Like Miami, Virginia Tech has won victories over NC State and Louisville. The Hokies also beat Duke and Boston College with conference losses to North Carolina and Wake Forest.
“It’s going to be difficult, they have a very good team”, the striker Gilbert frierson said.
Virginia Tech beat Miami 42-35 last season, but Miami have won four of the last six and two of the last three at Blacksburg.
While Diaz insists his squad won’t be focused on the future, he will insist that his squad don’t turn around either.
The goal is to be 1-0.
Christopher Stock has covered hurricanes in Miami since 2003 and can be reached by email at [email protected] and on Twitter @InsideTheU.
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