Miami Hurricanes Bye Comes During Quirky Week

Every fall there are a few college football Saturdays that defy logic and turn teams’ collective seasons upside down.

This proved to be one of those weekends and thankfully the Miami Hurricanes watched from the sideline, averted disaster and still managed to climb a few spots in the rankings. (Another added bonus—Florida lost. Always a beautiful thing.)

No. 13 going into the weekend, Miami found itself at No. 10 in the AP poll on Sunday morning. This marks the Hurricanes’ highest position since climbing to No. 8 in 2009.

Ranked 5-1, with wins over Florida State, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma and Florida A&M, Miami entered the top ten on Sunday October 18th, ranked No. 9 prior to a win at Central Florida.

A week later, ranked No. 8, Miami fell to Clemson in overtime, 40-37 and until this weekend had never returned.

Miami backed into this week’s top ten courtesy of a few monster upsets.  Texas took down No. 12 Oklahoma in the annual Red River Rivalry and within the hour, Missouri upset No. 7 Georgia.

By day’s end, No. 5 Stanford was toppled at Utah, while No. 9 Texas A&M mounted a late comeback at Ole Miss, moving the Aggies to No. 7 in the latest rankings. No. 15 Baylor also averted disaster, surviving Kansas State and rallying for the, 35-25 win.

No. 3 Clemson had fits with unranked Boston College, needing a late fumble and score to eke out a 24-14 win—in Death Valley.

No. 18 Michigan blew a late lead at Penn State, falling to the Nittany Lions in four overtimes and as alluded to earlier, No. 18 Florida lost its second game of the season, falling to No. 10 LSU, 17-6.

Miami gets this week’s game out of the way early, taking on North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Thursday night. The nationally televised ESPN showdown has the Canes looking for a sixth win while the Tar Heels stumble in at 1-4.

The stage it set for some more movement next weekend if Miami can rack up another “W”.

No. 24 Auburn takes on No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 9 UCLA heads to No. 13 Stanford and of course, the monster primetime showdown with No. 5 Florida State at No. 3 Clemson.

A few take downs coupled with a statement against North Carolina this Thursday and Miami could climb a few more spots.

From there, Wake Forest treks south—one last tune-up before UM’s game of the year at Florida State on November 2.

The goal this week for head coach Al Golden and staff; guarding against complacency, remaining level-headed and respect for an opponent who doesn’t look good on paper, but will be upset-minded and has had the Hurricanes number in the past.

North Carolina 18, Miami 14 (2012) … North Carolina 33, Miami 24 (2009) … North Carolina 28, Miami 24 (2008) … North Carolina 33, Miami 27 (2007) … and who could ever forget that first-ever ACC loss in 2004.

No. 3 Miami, undefeated at 6-0 with wins over Florida State, Louisville and North Carolina State, takes on a 4-3 North Carolina squad and fell, 31-28, having given up a jaw-dropping 545 yards on defense.

History in this rivalry, as well as this last weekend of college football upsets, proved that there are no ‘gimmies’.

As a fan base, thinking about a 7-0 start and penciling in two more wins before a road trip to Tallahassee is understandable. For a coaching staff and group of players not used to winning in bunches or dealing with this level of consistent prosperity, this week has letdown written all over it.

Hopefully watching football this past weekend, opposed to playing it, served as a wake-up call and reminder for UM.

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