Miami’s Missing Vote Returns as the Gap to Notre Dame Shrinks

Miami is back on every AP ballot. All 70 voters ranked the Hurricanes in their top seven on October 4, and Miami’s deficit to Notre Dame shrank from 80 points to eight.

The returning vote came from Eric Johnson of WSLS-TV, who placed Miami third. His 23 points account for the Hurricanes’ entire net gain, while Notre Dame’s total fell by 49. Miami remains No. 4, but the race for third is considerably closer.

Miami Returns to Every Ballot

Johnson’s No. 3 placement is his highest Miami vote this season. He had the Hurricanes fourth, fourth, sixth and seventh in the first four editions, before the September 27 absence covered in Poll Behavior’s Week 4 article.

The Other 69 Voters Finish With the Same Point Total

AP awards 25 points for first, 24 for second and 23 for third, continuing down to one for 25th. Johnson’s No. 3 vote therefore contributes 23 points that were absent from Miami’s previous total.

Miami rose from 1,501 points to 1,524. The other 69 voters collectively supplied 1,501 points in each edition, making the arithmetic exact: their net contribution did not change, and Johnson added 23.

Those 69 ballots did change individually. Twelve voters raised Miami, 17 lowered it and 40 kept it in the same position. The gains and losses canceled in points, so an unchanged group total should not be mistaken for 69 unchanged votes.

Notre Dame’s Decline Does More to Narrow the Gap

Notre Dame remains third with 1,532 points, down from 1,581. Its 49-point loss and Miami’s 23-point gain reduced the separation by 72 points, taking the gap from 80 to eight.

Team	Week 4 Points	Week 5 Points	Change
Notre Dame, No. 3	1,581	1,532	−49
Miami, No. 4	1,501	1,524	+23
Gap	80	8	−72

Johnson’s vote mattered to that race, but it explains less than half of the narrowing. The larger contribution came from Notre Dame losing points across the panel.

Miami and Notre Dame now appear on all 70 ballots. Their eight-point separation comes from how those voters place them, leaving a close contest for third even though the aggregate positions have not changed. Restored inclusion helped Miami reach that point, and Notre Dame’s larger point loss brought the Hurricanes closer still.