Miami’s perfect start kept the Hurricanes right where they were in the AP Top 25, with the No. 4 spot holding steady after a 41-13 win over Clemson pushed them to 5-0 heading into a bye week.
The Hurricanes picked up 1,524 points and two first-place votes in Sunday’s poll, a slight bump from last week’s 1,501 points and one first-place vote. Texas stayed atop the rankings at No. 1 with 1,737 points and 61 first-place votes.
Miami is now 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the ACC, and the break comes before a home matchup with Florida State on Oct. 17. The Seminoles enter at 3-2 and 1-1 in conference play.
The AP poll also kept Miami in the middle of a crowded ACC picture. SMU checked in at No. 24 and Pittsburgh landed at No. 25, giving the league three ranked teams. Wake Forest and Duke were among the schools that received votes.
Miami’s upcoming schedule still has a couple of ranked tests in front of it. The Hurricanes travel to No.
3 Notre Dame on Nov. 7 and host No. 25 Pittsburgh on Oct.
This season’s No. 7 preseason ranking was Miami’s highest entering a year since 2004, when the Hurricanes opened at No. 6.
At the top of the poll, Georgia stayed No. 2, Notre Dame remained No.
3, Ohio State held at No. 5 and Alabama moved up to No. 6.
Indiana was the lone team with a first-place vote outside the top three, checking in at No. 7.
In Other News...
Miami Looked Like A Title Contender But One Concern Is Growing
Miamis win over Clemson did a lot more than add another quality result to the rsum. The Hurricanes backed it up with a defense that held Clemson to 13 points and just one touchdown, while the offense found enough explosive plays to keep control of the game. Cooper Barkate delivered the kind of breakout performance that can change the feel of a season, highlighted by a 61-yard touchdown catch, and Darian Mensah added scoring through both the air and on the ground.
The problem for Miami was everything that happened around the win. The Hurricanes were dealing with multiple injuries by the end of the game, including to key offensive linemen and cornerbacks, and while some players were able to return after leaving, the list of in-game issues kept growing. For a team that just looked every bit like a title contender, the concern now is less about whether Miami can beat top competition and more about how long it can keep doing it with so many bodies being asked to hold up. [Read more 🡒]
Miamis Biggest Worry After Clemson Has Nothing To Do With The Score
Miami left Clemson with a convincing 40-13 win in a primetime matchup, and the performance had the feel of a complete road statement even with several key players banged up along the way. The Hurricanes absorbed injuries on both lines and in the secondary, yet the defense still smothered Clemsons rushing attack and finished with six sacks while the ground game produced 192 yards and three touchdowns.
The bigger concern now is less about the scoreboard and more about how Miami comes out of it physically as the calendar turns to Florida State. A rivalry game of that size demands depth and health, and the Hurricanes have already seen how quickly their margin can shrink when the injuries start to pile up. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Just Gave The ACC No Real Case Against No. 1
Miamis win over Clemson did more than add another eye-catching result to the ledger. It gave the Hurricanes a weekend built on both style and substance, the kind of showing that tends to linger in the ACC pecking order. With Miami stacking up as the leagues benchmark in scoring and defense, the argument around the top spot is starting to look less like a debate and more like an acknowledgment of what has already happened on the field.
Around the conference, a few teams flashed enough to keep the race interesting, from Pitt and Duke to SMU and Louisville, while others like Florida State, Virginia Tech and Clemson continue sorting out where they really fit. But Miamis combination of a statement win and season-long consistency leaves the ACC with a familiar problem: if the No. 1 team keeps handling its biggest tests, there may not be much left to argue about. The next stretch will show whether anyone can make that case anyway. [Read more 🡒]