Miami slipped one spot to No. 6 in the latest AP Top 25, and that leaves the Hurricanes sitting right about where they began the season.
For Mario Cristobal’s team, the bigger issue is what comes next on the schedule. There may not be a real chance at a marquee win until the Nov. 7 road trip to Notre Dame, and that has a lot to do with how the ACC is being viewed by poll voters.
Miami doesn’t get Louisville or SMU, the conference’s two highest-ranked teams, and the rest of the league looks shaky enough that the Hurricanes’ path to a statement victory is thin. Virginia Tech and Pitt still have to hold up, Florida State is described as “just awful,” Clemson is called underwhelming, and Duke might be the best ACC team left on Miami’s schedule.
That’s part of why Cristobal keeps leaning on the idea that college football is not a beauty pageant. Miami can only play the games in front of it, and each one brings its own problems.
The Hurricanes’ job is to win. If the performance looks dominant, great.
If it looks uneven like it did in Week 3, that counts too.
The new AP poll puts Texas at No. 1, followed by Georgia, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Indiana and Miami. Ohio State checks in at No. 7, with Alabama, BYU and LSU rounding out the top 10. The rest of the rankings run through Texas Tech, USC, Penn State, Tennessee, Utah, Louisville, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Oregon, Florida, SMU, Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Houston.
The poll also sparked fresh frustration over what looks like a heavy SEC lean. Mississippi State’s ranking drew particular attention, especially compared with Virginia Tech and Duke.
Virginia Tech received 46 votes, while Duke got none, despite the argument that Duke has been the stronger program over the past five years. Mississippi State’s best season this decade is a 9-4 finish in 2022, while Duke has posted three nine-win seasons in the last four years.
There was also pushback against the idea of rewarding teams for “quality losses.” Houston stayed in the Top 25 after a close loss to Texas Tech that ended with a failed two-point conversion, and LSU’s small drop was described as fair even with doubts about the Tigers. Texas A&M remained ranked after a rough loss to Kentucky, adding to the sense that the voters are giving the SEC the benefit of the doubt.
That’s the bind Miami is in. The Hurricanes are trying to climb while the teams around them in the ACC sit outside the top tier of the poll.
Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech and Duke are all outside the Top 30, while Texas A&M stays ranked and Mississippi State gets the nod as a quality opponent. For Miami, the schedule may not look daunting on paper, but the poll has made clear that perception and results are not always lining up.
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