Miami football moves up 1 spot in both polls

The Miami football team moved one spot each in the Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today Coaches Poll. Miami is now ranked 15th nationally in the AP Top 25 and 16th in the Coaches Poll following its 70-13 victory over Bethune-Cookman. Mario Cristobal won his debut as Miami head coach.

Miami finished with 679 points in the AP Top 25 which was just one ahead of Arkansas who moved up three spots. Michigan State is 14th in the AP Top 25 with 690 points. Miami has 591 points in the Coaches Poll. Utah is 15th in the Coaches Poll with 591 points. The Utes dropped seven spots after a loss at Florida.

Miami is the second highest-ranked ACC team in the AP Top 25. Clemson is fifth, Pittsburgh is 17th, North Carolina State 18th and Wake Forest 23rd. Miami is the fourth highest-ra team in the Coaches poll. Clemson is fourth in the Coaches Poll, North Carolina State 13th, Pittsburgh 14th and Wake Forest 21st.

After hosting Southern Mississippi on Saturday, Miami will play its first game against a ranked opponent this season at number six Texas A&M on September 17. The Aggies are sixth in both polls. Clemson on November 19 and Pittsburgh on November 26 are the other currently ranked teams on the 2022 Miami schedule.

Miami is ranked higher in the metrics. The ESPN Football Power Index ranks the Miami football team is ninth in the FPI. Clemson is fourth in the FPI, Texas A&M 21st and Pittsburgh 25th. No other 2022 Miami opponents are ranked in the FPI Top 25. The FPI projects Miami to win every game in 2022 except Clemson and Texas A&M.

A strong performance on Saturday versus Southern Mississippi should continue to move Miami up slightly in the polls. If Miami can upset Texas A&M, the Hurricanes should move into the top 10 for the first time since late in the 2022 season. The Cristobal era is off to a good start solidly ranked in the top 25.