After defeating 12th seed Kansas State and fourth seed Penn State, the Miami football team will match up with top-seeded Georgia in the Round of 16 in “ESPN’s 2022 fictional NCAA football tournament.” Miami ousted Kansas State 31-30 and Penn State 30-24 to advance to face Georgia.
Georgia won its first two games in the ESPN 2022 fictional NCAA Football Tournament, 35-10 over 16 seed Syracuse and 24-16 over eight seed Houston. An Andres Borregales field goal late helped Miami defeat Kansas State. Tyler Van Dyke led the Hurricanes in the victory over the Nittany Lions.
Not surprisingly Georgia used a stout defense that created big plays in their second-round game against Houston. The matchup with Georgia would create Miami cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and defensive backs coach Jahmile Addae against their former team. Addae was the Georgia DB coach on their 2021 National Championship.
Stevenson played with Georgia in 2019 and 2022. The game would also match head coaches Mario Cristobal of Miami and Kirby Smart of Alabama. Cristobal and Smart were on the staff at Alabama together from 2013 through 2015. Cristobal was the co-offensive coordinator, Smart the Crimson Tide defensive coordinator.
"“(1) Georgia 37: (5) Miami 20: The Hurricanes invested in their football program in the offseason like never before and spent big money on their staff, including prying head coach Mario Cristobal away from Oregon.It was a good run for The U and the start of something potentially special in Coral Gables, but Georgia’s defense — even with all the losses to the NFL — is smothering in the second half and holds Miami to just one field goal. Jalen Carter finishes with three sacks.”"
In the fictional tournament, the Miami football team would have to improve defensively to be a National Championship contender. The Hurricanes allowed 30.3 points per game in the ESPN fictional NCAA Football Tournament. Miami averaged 27 points per game in their run to the third round.
Under Mario Cristobal, the expectations will be that the Hurricanes contend for berths in the non-fiction College Football Playoff. Cristobal was close to leading Oregon to the CFP in his four seasons as head coach. The coaching staff Cristobal has hired at Miami has CFP credentials.
In addition to Addae, Cp-defensive coordinators Kevin Steele and Charlie Strong have national championship pedigrees as assistants. Steele has been on multiple staffs who have competed for a National Championship. Strong was the DC at Florida under Urban Meyer when the Gators won titles.
Georgia was upset in the East Regional Final 24-23 by second seed Texas A&M. Miami plays at Texas A&M on September 17. Texas A&M lost to Ohio State 38-24 in the national semifinals. Ohio State went on to win the fictional national championship 34-30 by defeating Alabama in the title game.