Tyler Van Dyke named 10th most important person in 2022 CFP race
Tyler Van Dyke was named the ACC Rookie of the Year and Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2021. The hiring of Mario Cristobal as head coach and Josh Gattis as offensive coordinator with the return of Van Dyke to the Miami football program in 2022 has created a lot of excitement surrounding the Hurricanes.
Van Dyke was named as one of “College football’s 11 most important people in the 2022 playoff race.” on Monday by Brad Crawford of 247 Sports. Miami will play two of the biggest games of 2022 at Texas A&M on September 17 and at Clemson on November 19. Those games could have a big impact on the College Football Playoff.
Tyler Van Dyke has a record-setting season for Miami. Over the last six games of the 2021 season, Van Dyke threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns each game. Joe Burrow who won the 2019 Heisman Trophy at LSU is the only other QB to accomplish those numbers in the College Football Playoff era.
LSU won the 2019 National Championship. Miami hosts Bethune-Cookman and Southern Mississippi to begin the season before the game at Texas A&M. The Hurricanes have a chance to build success throughout the season before playing at Clemson. Cristobal will have his culture set by the time Miami plays Clemson.
"10. TYLER VAN DYKE, QB, MIAMI“One of the nation’s top quarterbacks entering the season, what happens if Tyler Van Dyke takes the Heisman dark-horse buzz by the throat? The ACC Coastal is winnable for the Hurricanes in Mario Cristobal’s first season and Miami would have one of those resume-building playoff wins if it takes out Texas A&M on the road in Week 3.Even if the Hurricanes lost to the Aggies, they will be favored in every contest the rest of the way except Clemson on Nov. 19. That could be the first of two games against the Tigers standing in the way of Van Dyke and this team’s potential playoff berth.”"
Cristobal and his staff will be focused on building the program in his inaugural season and not the College Football Playoff. If Miami contends for a CFP berth it would be an amazing accomplishment for Cristobal in his first season. Miami was ranked as high as ninth in the 2020 December CFP polls.
The Hurricanes have not been a serious contender for a CFP berth since being ranked as high as second in the penultimate week of the 2017 regular season. With Cristobal as the head coach, Miami will be expected to contend for CFP berths. Miami is more likely to have an impact on the CFP than earning a berth.