ESPN projects Miami football 64 team CFP seed

With both of the Miami basketball teams in the NCAA Tournament sweet 16, ESPN projected where the Hurricanes would be seeded in a 64-team college football playoff. The Miami football team is seeded 11th in the virtual 2023 ESPN playoff. Miami will have to prove itself on the field during the 2023 season.

After a 5-7 season in which the Miami football team significantly underachieved, ranked Miami as the 11th seed would put the Hurricanes between the 41st and 44th team nationally. Central Florida, Illinois and Michigan State are the other virtual 11 seeds by ESPN. Michigan State also had a disappointing 2022 season.

The 2023 season will be the last one that the College Football Playoff will have four teams. Mario Cristobal and his staff are building a roster that should be able to compete for a berth in the 2024 College Football Playoffs when the field expands to 12 teams. Miami challenged for a CFP berth in 2017.

The Miami football team entered the final weekend of the regular season with a 10-0 record in 2017. Miami lost 24-14 at Pittsburgh on the Friday of Thanksgiving weekend, was blown out a week later in the ACC Championship Game by Clemson and lost 34-24 in the Orange Bowl Game in late December.

"“(6) Wisconsin 31, (11) Miami 7: In his first postseason game as Wisconsin’s coach, Luke Fickell has his team focused and playing its best football. That’s bad news for the Hurricanes, who fall behind early and end up throwing the ball 40 times and repeatedly find themselves in unfavorable down-and-distance situations.”"

A matchup versus Luke Fickell and Wisconsin would give the Badgers a coach with experience in the College Football Playoff. Fickell led Cincinnati to the CFP after the 2021 season. Wisconsin hired Fickell away from Cincinnati after the 2022 season. Cristobal was close to leading Oregon to CFP berths in four seasons.

A 31-7 loss to Wisconsin would be a bad look for Miami in real life. Thankfully a Miami loss to Wisconsin only happened virtually. ESPN partially based their seedings on SP+ projections. The ESPN virtual CFP committee specifically looks for compelling matchups that the NCAA Tournament committee says it does not.

The Miami loss to Wisconsin prevents a second-round meeting with ACC Rival Clemson. Wisconsin continued its run in the ESPN CFP with an upset over their seed Clemson in the Midwest Regional second round. Miami will have its real chance versus Clemson when the Hurricanes host the Tigers on October 21.

Miami has made runs in the past in the ESPN virtual College Football Playoff. It was not to be this year in the simulation that ESPN runs. Miami will point to 2024 and attempt to make the real 12-team field. The 2023 season for Miami will be about developing players, improving and qualifying for a bowl game.