There are a lot of expectations surrounding the Miami Hurricanes football program entering its inaugural season under Mario Cristobal. Many national media sites have Miami ranked in the top 25. The College Football News is taking more of a cautious approach ranking Miami 45th out of the 131 Football Bowl Subdivision teams.
Miami signed the 16th ranked freshman class largely due to Cristobal. The Hurricanes also signed the 11th ranked transfer class, all of whom committed after Cristobal was hired in December. Meshing the incoming freshmen, transfers and returning players on the Miami roster will be a challenge for Cristobal and his staff.
The first two weeks of the season should allow Miami to ease into the season. Miami opens at home with Bethune-Cookman and Southern Mississippi. Week three provides a difficult challenge at Texas A&M. Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke provides Miami a solid foundation to build on for the 2022 Miami football team.
The College Football News ranks the Miami Hurricanes seventh in the ACC and and fourth in the ACC Coastal. Miami finished 7-5 overall last season and 5-3 in the ACC. The Hurricanes were second in the Coastal and fifth in the ACC last season. Miami is one of four ACC Coastal teams with new head coaches this season.
"45 Miami HurricanesFinal Rankings: 2021: 49 2020: 20 2019: 60Week 0: OPEN DATEWeek 1: Bethune-Cookman“There might be more work to do than many are going to believe. Mario Cristobal still needs time to work his recruiting magic, but he inherits a rising star of a QB in Tyler Van Dyke, and the defense should be great with a little time up front.”"
In the Coastal, Pittsburgh loses QB Kenny Pickett but replaced him with Kedon Slovis from USC. Virginia returns QB Brennan Armstrong. North Carolina coming off their own disappointing season is the third Coastal team ranked ahead of Miami. Clemson, North Carolina State and Wake Forest in the ACC Atlantic are ranked ahead of Miami.
The hiring of Cristobal and signing of the 11 transfers make Miami a unpredictable team entering the 2022 season. Miami is ranked as high as 12th by CBS Sports. Clemson who is 11th is the only ACC school ranked ahead of Miami by CBS. How Miami performs at Clemson and Texas A&M this season will impact the rankings.