Miami’s case for being the No. 1 team in college football fizzled away on Friday night.
The second-ranked Hurricanes suffered a 24-21 home loss to unranked Louisville. Carson Beck threw his standing as a Heisman frontrunner away as he threw four interceptions – one more than he threw in Miami’s first six games of the season combined.
Louisville scored touchdowns on its first two drives of the game to take a 14-0 lead, and Miami was never able to claw its way out of that early hole. A fourth-quarter fumble by Louisville deep in its own territory set up a 12-yard touchdown run for Malachi Toney, and a subsequent two-point conversion by Miami made it a 24-21 game. The Hurricanes forced a punt on Louisville’s subsequent drive for a chance to tie or win the game, but Louisville’s T.J. Capers sealed a victory for the Cardinals with a diving interception on a Beck pass tipped by Louisville safety JoJo Evans.
LOUISVILLE GETS THE CLUTCH INT TO HAND NO. 2 MIAMI ITS FIRST LOSS OF THE SEASON pic.twitter.com/8t2LQgpYeL
— ESPN (@espn) October 18, 2025
Going into Friday night’s game, Miami was viewed by many as Ohio State’s top competition to be the No. 1 team in the country. The Hurricanes were ranked No. 2 in both polls entering the week, earning 13 first-place votes compared to 50 for Ohio State (and three for Indiana) in the AP Top 25.
Yeah, about that https://t.co/kesJJrY9RL
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) October 18, 2025
The Hurricanes remain a top contender to win the ACC and make the College Football Playoff, but their home loss to the Cardinals – who are now a team to watch themselves with a 5-1 record on the season – puts a dent in their résumé and establishes Ohio State and Indiana as the top two teams in college football, provided the Buckeyes take care of business against Wisconsin and the Hoosiers do the same against Michigan State on Saturday.
