For those who tuned into ESPN’s BCS Countdown on Sunday night, the matchup between Miami and Florida State was front and center. Commentators Rece Davis, Jesse Palmer and David Pollack openly mocked the Hurricanes, despite the team’s undefeated record halfway through the season.
“The No. 7 ranking is a mirage. In my opinion they’re not even a Top 10 team,” Palmer said of Miami, while Pollack made it clear that Florida State is the stronger program. Davis ended the segment with a quip about Sebastian the Ibis running for cover mid-second quarter and all three laughed it up going into commercial break.
With that, welcome to the overall perception of the nation’s seventh-ranked team.
Negatively-fueled words like “overrated” are being used to describe a scrappy Miami squad instead of the most-obvious choice: “overachievers.”
The Hurricanes have benefited from the carnage of college football over the past few weeks and coupled with a handful of fourth quarter rallies, a Top 10 ranking was achieved. But isn’t that the name of the game in college football?
Play who’s on your schedule, beat your conference foes, find a way to get the job done and simply survive.
As they say during March Madness and tourney time, “survive and advance.” That’s precisely what Miami has done en route to a 7-0 start, fueled by an early September upset of then-No. 12 Florida.
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