Miami Hurricanes : Ranked No. 9 in AP Poll

Further proof why preseason polls need to be done away with. Critics, pundits and talking head know-it-alls give their opinions in summertime, most of which haven’t done a lick of homework.

They might check a depth chart, read up on recruiting and guesstimate how they feel a team will do – but rarely do they truly have their thumb on the pulse. Especially with some under the radar teams. Instead, the pollsters stick with tradition as well as what’s trendy.

Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, Southern Cal, Ohio State, etc. come in a top the preseason polls. Virginia Tech remains the cream of the ACC crop, based on last season and nothing more. Boise State continues to get the love as the Cinderella-type squad who keeps making noise… even though they run from fierce out of conference foes (and whoever they take on seems to have to travel to Blue Turf Stadium.)

Three weeks into the season everything has already been turned on its collective ear.

Weeks back ESPN writes that Florida should be given the SEC East trophy now, en route to their pending National Championship game appearance. Two cupcakes later (Charleston Southern and Troy), the Gators took on their first real foe – Tennessee – and had to grind out a 23-13 win, even though they were a four touchdown favorite.

No. 2 Texas was in dogfight with unranked Texas Tech this past weekend. No. 3 USC lost to unranked Washington; a squad until a week ago held the nation’s longest losing streak.

A few weeks back preseason top ten Virginia Tech got worked by Alabama, while then-No. 3 Oklahoma was upset by No. 20 BYU, losing Heisman-winning quarterback Sam Bradford for an undisclosed amount of time.

Two weeks later, then-No. 7 BYU is throttled at home by Florida State – the same Seminoles bunch of the Hurricanes beat 38-34, behind the arm of Jacory Harris and his 386 passing yards… the same Harris now being mentioned in Heisman conversation after shredding Georgia Tech last Thursday…. the same Tech that rolled Miami for 472 rushing yards last fall, entered this season ranked No. 15 and was not only an ACC darkhorse, but thought to be a legit conference candidate.

Three weeks into the season and we need to pause to catch our breath.

The new polls were released on Sunday and it’s sheer craziness. As a Miami fan, who’d have thought at 2-0 you’d see the Canes above Oklahoma, Southern Cal and Ohio State? Just like that, The U is back in the mix – having beat two formidable opponents and impressed their harshest critics.

For the second straight week, J12 earned ACC Offensive Back of the Week honors. Harris completed 20-of-25 passes for 270 yards and three touchdowns in a 33-17 win over Georgia Tech last Thursday night. It also marked the second straight week the sophomore did so in front of a nationally televised ESPN audience, which sparked any “Harris for Heisman” talk currently out there.

Many questioned Miami’s “murderer’s row” type schedule out the gate, but per Randy Shannon, the Canes took on the ‘to be the best you have to beat the best’ mentality and welcomed the challenge. The downside to losing out the gate would’ve sent this program into a tailspin, but as Shannon mentioned during summer – the upside if you win those games? You can’t put a price on it.

Columnist Jemele Hill called Miami the hottest team in the country on ESPN’s First Take Monday morning and analyst Kirk Herbstreit put the Canes at No. 5 in his power rankings Saturday night. Seems everywhere you look, everyone is back to talking about The U — even in the wake of a huge Florida State win.

FSU rolls into Provo, Utah on Saturday and derail BYU’s season with a 54-28 beat down — yet the talk is still Miami. How good are the Canes if they beat a Noles bunch that owned the then No. 7 Cougars? Hell, how good are the Canes if they beat a Noles squad that thumped a Cougars squad that upset the Sooners week one?

A few too many degrees of separation there to use that logic for a Miami win against Oklahoma in two weeks, but you get the point. The U deserves to be mentioned in the same breath of any undefeated team at this point of the season. Especially with two convincing quality wins. (Yes, the win at FSU came down to one play… but 476 yards of total offense and a win in a hostile environment work in the Canes favor.)

Miami gets a nine-day layover between Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. The Hokies are coming off a last-minute touchdown with their 16-15 win over Nebraska on Saturday. Par for the course it was solid defense and special teams coupled with an erratic offense – both of which will make for an exciting showdown in Blacksburg on Saturday.

Can Mark Whipple solve Bud Foster’s defense? Will Harris continue with his superhero-like play? What will the Miami defense do to again shut down and contain Tyrod Taylor?

Even more important, how does Shannon keep these Canes level-headed? A No. 9 ranking this early in the season? Columnists stroking Miami’s ego, telling this team they’re something special? It’ll take a yeoman’s effort from Shannon and staff to pump the brakes on all that.

2-0 is a hell of a start, but it’s just that – a start. There’s a lot of football left to be played and these Canes need to weather the storm. Take care of business and down the stretch, close strong – something that wasn’t the case last year.

More to come this week as Miami prepares for yet another trek to Blacksburg. Stay tuned!

Comments

comments