Miami football moves up in Coaches and Media polls despite bye week
Despite a bye week, the Miami football program moved up from 12th to 11th in the AP Top 25 and to 10th in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
Coming off of a bye week, the Miami football team moved up from 12th to 11th in the AP Top 25 and 10th in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Miami moved up after dropping in the polls last week following a win over Virginia. This is the highest Miami is ranked in November since 2017.
Miami will travel to North Carolina State on Friday. A loss by North Carolina on Saturday night moved Miami into sole possession of third place in the ACC behind undefeateds Clemson and Notre Dame. The Wolfpack and Tar Heels are tied for fourth in the ACC at 4-2 a half-game behind Miami who is 4-1.
Miami moved up primarily due to Oklahoma State losing 41-34 to Texas in overtime. The Hurricanes also moved up in the USA Today Coaches Poll moving ahead of Wisconsin who had their game canceled because of too many COVID-19 positives. Miami moved up in the polls for a second time following a bye this season.
The Hurricanes began the season 3-0 following wins over UAB, Louisville and Florida State. Miami moved up from eighth to seventh following a bye week on October 3. After their 42-17 loss to Clemson, the Hurricanes fell six spots to 13th in the October 11 AP Top 25. Miami dropped last week before moving up again.
After playing N.C. State on Friday, Miami will travel to Virginia Tech, host Georgia Tech, play at Wake Forest and host North Carolina to finish the season. Miami is in a good position for a berth in the ACC Championship Game is Clemson wins at Notre Dame on Saturday. If Notre Dame wins finishing in the top two is complicated.
The winner between the Fighting Irish and Tigers would have a clear path to the ACC Championship game even with a loss later in the season. Clemson would have victories over its two primary challengers. Miami and Notre Dame do not play this season. That makes the tiebreaker complex.
Next. Miami future opponents allow more yards, less points. dark
After head-to-head the second tiebreaker takes the highest-ranked team in the ACC and how the teams performed against them. The remaining games for Miami will be critical. The four ACC wins by the Hurricanes this season have all been against teams ranked in the bottom half of the ACC Standings.