Miami football picked second in ACC Coastal exactly where they belong
The Miami football program was picked second in the ACC Coastal by 147 media voters. A projection of second behind North Carolina is exactly where the Hurricanes belong. North Carolina was chosen as the preseason favorite in the Coastal with109 first-place votes and 979 points. Miami had 28 first-place votes and 881 points.
Clemson is the prohibitive favorite to win its seventh consecutive ACC Championship. The Tigers were named on 125 ballots to repeat as conference champions. North Carolina received 16 votes to win the ACC, Miami with three and Georgia Tech, North Carolina State and Virginia one each as the preseason ACC favorite.
Miami won its only outright ACC Coastal Division Title and ACC Championship game berth in 2017. The Hurricanes play at the Tar Heels on October 16. Most projections view the Miami-North Carolina game as the de facto ACC Coastal Division Championship Game. Every Coastal team but Duke received a first-place vote.
Clemson was the near-unanimous choice in the Atlantic with only North Carolina State receiving a first-place vote other than the Tigers. Clemson has appeared in six consecutive College Football Playoffs with championships following the 2016 and 2018 seasons. Clemson lost in the title games in the 2015 and ’17 seasons.
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The Miami football team returns 19 starters in 2021 following an 8-3 2020 season. Miami finished last year with losses to North Carolina and in the Cheez-it Bowl to Oklahoma State. The blowout loss to the Tar Heels last season is the major reason Miami is picked to finish second in the Coastal.
Miami is going to have to prove they can defeat North Carolina to become the ACC Coastal Division favorite. The Hurricanes lost 28-25 in their last trip to Chapel Hill in 2019. Miami won their prior trip to Kenan Memorial Stadium 24-19 in 2017. North Carolina is rejuvenated during its second string under Mack Brown.
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Brown and Miami head coach Manny Diaz worked together from 2011-2013 at Texas. Diaz was the Longhorns defensive coordinator before being fired in-season. The Miami defense will have to prove itself in 2021. Miami allowed 100 points in the season-ending losses to UNC and Oklahoma State and North Carolina in 2020.