The Hurricanes are mired in as nightmarish a stretch as they could have imagined.
After winning four straight to start the season and climbing to No. 10 in the AP Top 25, Miami has lost three straight conference games in the span of 12 days, the latest setback coming Thursday in a 37-16 loss to Virginia Tech that has all but eliminated the Hurricanes from contention for the Coastal Division crown, something Miami has yet to win since moving to the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2004.
Instead of discussing the possibility of playing for a conference championship, the Hurricanes on Thursday were resigned to talking about finding ways to execute and playing for pride and each other.