The Miami football program moved up to 13th in the Associated Press top 25 and the USA Today Coaches poll on Sunday passing some big-name programs. Miami was 15th in the AP top 25 and 16th in the coaches poll last week. Baylor, Florida, Notre Dame and Texas A&M all lost and were ranked ahead of Miami last week.
Miami overcame a sluggish first half to defeat Southern Mississippi 30-7 on Saturday. The Hurricanes didn’t score a touchdown until 20 seconds left in the first half on a Henry Parrish one-yard run. The Miami football team took a 10-7 into the locker room on the Parrish run. Parrish had his second straight 100-yard game.
The Mississippi transfer finished with 23 carries for 109 yards and the TD plus he added three receptions for 18 yards. Xavier Restrepo led the Miami receivers for the second straight game with six receptions for 72 yards. Tyler Van Dyke completed 21 passes in 30 attempts for 263 yards one TD and one interception.
The TD drive before the end of the first half ignited the Miami offense. Miami scored TDs on the first two drives of the second half to stretch the lead to 24-7. After a punt on the next drive, Andres Borreagales kicked two field goals to put away Southern Mississippi 30-7. The Miami defense was dominant in the second half.
Miami allowed 87 yards in the second half. The Hurricanes had seven tackles for loss, three sacks, four pass breakups, one quarterback hurry, two fumble recoveries and an interception. Miami played well defensively without defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor who was the Hurricanes’ best defensive player versus Bethune-Cookman.
The Miami football team moved up in the rankings following losses by Baylor and Florida and shocking upsets of Notre Dame and Texas A&M. Baylor lost 26-20 in double overtime at Brigham Young. Kentucky won 26-16 at Florida. The Wildcats earned back-to-back wins over Florida for the first time since 1976 and 1977.
Baylor eight spots to 17th in the AP top 25 and 11 places to 19th in the USA Today coaches poll. Florida fell six spots to 18th in the AP and two to 21st in the coaches poll. Notre Dame and Texas A&M lost games to Southern Mississippi Sun Belt rivals. The Fighting Irish fell completely out of the poll after losing to Marshall.
Marshall shocked Notre Dame 26-21. Notre Dame was eighth in the AP and ninth in the coaches poll last week. Appalachian State shut down the Texas A&M offense in a 17-14 win in College Station. Miami will play at Texas A&M on Saturday. Texas A&M had only 186 total yards in the loss.
The Aggies had 97 yards passing and 89 rushing in the loss. Texas A&M was sixth in both polls entering the weekend. The Aggies are now 24th in the AP and 22nd in the Coaches poll. Miami will now go into College Station as the higher-ranked team and the sole undefeated team. Metrics project Miami to win.