The Miami football program finished the 2020 season ranked in the final 16 weeks. Miami reached a season-high of seventh during a bye week following their 52-10 victory over Florida State a week earlier. The Hurricanes fell to 13th the following week after a 42-17 loss to Clemson.
Miami ran off five straight wins over the next nine weeks. That included back-to-back bye weeks during the final two weeks of November because of a Covid outbreak. Miami rose to ninth in the rankings during their time off and stayed there following a 48-0 demolition at Duke when they returned on December 5.
A blowout loss to North Carolina a week later dropped Miami to 19th. Oklahoma State defeated the Hurricanes 37-34 in the Cheez-It Bowl that caused the Hurricanes to fall to 22nd to end the season. The Hurricanes’ current streak in the rankings is their longest since they were ranked for 24 consecutive weeks from 2016-2018.
While detractors say the rankings are meaningless, staying ranked is important for the future of the Miami football program. Mark Richt had the Miami football program rolling during his first two seasons. The U was as close to being back as they had been since the mid-2000s with a 15 game winning streak spanning 2016-2017.
| Rk | Year | Wk | Date | Rk | Prev | Chng |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2020 | 2 | 2020-09-13 | 17 | ||
| 2 | 2020 | 3 | 2020-09-20 | 12 | 17 | 5 |
| 3 | 2020 | 4 | 2020-09-27 | 8 | 12 | 4 |
| 4 | 2020 | 5 | 2020-10-04 | 7 | 8 | 1 |
| 5 | 2020 | 6 | 2020-10-11 | 13 | 7 | 6 |
| 6 | 2020 | 7 | 2020-10-18 | 11 | 13 | 2 |
| 7 | 2020 | 8 | 2020-10-25 | 12 | 11 | 1 |
| 8 | 2020 | 9 | 2020-11-02 | 11 | 12 | 1 |
| 9 | 2020 | 10 | 2020-11-08 | 9 | 11 | 2 |
| 10 | 2020 | 11 | 2020-11-15 | 12 | 9 | 3 |
| 11 | 2020 | 12 | 2020-11-22 | 10 | 12 | 2 |
| 12 | 2020 | 13 | 2020-11-29 | 9 | 10 | 1 |
| 13 | 2020 | 14 | 2020-12-06 | 9 | 9 | |
| 14 | 2020 | 15 | 2020-12-13 | 19 | 9 | 10 |
| 15 | 2020 | 16 | 2020-12-20 | 18 | 19 | 1 |
| 16 | 2020 | 17 | Final | 22 | 18 | 4 |
| Rk | Year | Wk | Date | Rk | Prev | Chng |
| 17 | 2018 | 1 | Preseason | 8 | NA | — |
| 18 | 2018 | 2 | 2018-09-04 | 22 | 8 | 14 |
| 19 | 2018 | 3 | 2018-09-09 | 21 | 22 | 1 |
| 20 | 2018 | 4 | 2018-09-16 | 21 | 21 | |
| 21 | 2018 | 5 | 2018-09-23 | 16 | 21 | 5 |
| 22 | 2018 | 6 | 2018-09-30 | 17 | 16 | 1 |
| 23 | 2018 | 7 | 2018-10-07 | 16 | 17 | 1 |
| Rk | Year | Wk | Date | Rk | Prev | Chng |
| 24 | 2017 | 1 | Preseason | 18 | NA | — |
| 25 | 2017 | 2 | 2017-09-05 | 16 | 18 | 2 |
| 26 | 2017 | 3 | 2017-09-10 | 17 | 16 | 1 |
| 27 | 2017 | 4 | 2017-09-17 | 14 | 17 | 3 |
| 28 | 2017 | 5 | 2017-09-24 | 14 | 14 | |
| 29 | 2017 | 6 | 2017-10-01 | 13 | 14 | 1 |
| 30 | 2017 | 7 | 2017-10-08 | 11 | 13 | 2 |
| 31 | 2017 | 8 | 2017-10-15 | 8 | 11 | 3 |
| 32 | 2017 | 9 | 2017-10-22 | 8 | 8 | |
| 33 | 2017 | 10 | 2017-10-29 | 9 | 8 | 1 |
| 34 | 2017 | 11 | 2017-11-05 | 7 | 9 | 2 |
| 35 | 2017 | 12 | 2017-11-12 | 2 | 7 | 5 |
| 36 | 2017 | 13 | 2017-11-19 | 2 | 2 | |
| 37 | 2017 | 14 | 2017-11-27 | 7 | 2 | 5 |
| 38 | 2017 | 15 | 2017-12-03 | 11 | 7 | 4 |
| 39 | 2017 | 16 | Final | 13 | 11 | 2 |
| Rk | Year | Wk | Date | Rk | Prev | Chng |
| 40 | 2016 | 2 | 2016-09-06 | 25 | ||
| 41 | 2016 | 3 | 2016-09-11 | 25 | 25 | |
| 42 | 2016 | 4 | 2016-09-18 | 15 | 25 | 10 |
| 43 | 2016 | 5 | 2016-09-25 | 14 | 15 | 1 |
| 44 | 2016 | 6 | 2016-10-02 | 10 | 14 | 4 |
| 45 | 2016 | 7 | 2016-10-10 | 16 | 10 | 6 |
| 46 | 2016 | 16 | Final | 20 |
Provided by CFB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 7/11/2021.
A few recruits have stated that will wait to see how the 2021 Miami football season progresses to determine if they will sign with the Hurricanes. The losses to Clemson and North Carolina knocked Miami down to just inside the top 25. If the Hurricanes want to continue to develop as a program they have to start winning big games.
Miami is not scheduled to play Clemson in 2021 but has a well-publicized season opener against Alabama in Atlanta. The Hurricanes play at the Tar Heels on October 16 in what most analysts consider to be the game that will decide the ACC Coastal Divison title. Miami has to stay focused throughout the season.
Entering the 2021 season, Miami will be favored in every game but Alabama and North Carolina. Miami was 8-1 in games it was favored last season with the lone loss being to North Carolina. The Hurricanes were underdogs to Clemson and Oklahoma State and lost both without covering the point spread.
The Tar Heels demolition of the Hurricanes contributed to Miami being an underdog to the Cowboys. Miami has to show the ability to win big games and contests they are not expected to emerge victorious going forward while continuing to win games they are favored for the program to develop.
Miami improved from 6-7 during its first season under Manny Diaz in 2019. Three losses as a double-digit favorite in 2019 were troubling. Miami won the games they were prohibitive favorites in 2020. Miami showed the ability to stay focused and respect its opponents. Raising their level in big games will continue development.