Last year the Miami Hurricanes put the college football world on notice with the top-ranked offense behind QB Cam Ward. But, the defense left something to be desired as they struggled to put teams away and routinely needed late-game heroics from Ward and the offense. That ended up being their demise with late losses in the regular season.
This year seems to be different. With transfer QB Carson Beck looking to fill Ward's shoes, Miami is looking to not trip up in the regular season and make a run at the ACC title, as well as log a playoff appearance. Recently, ESPN asked their college football reporters for their playoff predictions and the polling is positive for Miami.
10 out of the 12 reporters included Miami in their final list of teams that will make the playoffs. Below I included the predictions for Miami and their potential matchup according to each reporter.
- Andrea Adelson: 8. Miami vs. 9. Alabama
- Kyle Bonagura: 6. Notre Dame vs. 11. Miami
- Bill Connelly: 6. Notre Dame vs. 11. Miami
- Heather Dinich: 8. Alabama vs. 9. Miami
- David Hale: 6. Georgia vs. 11. Miami
- Eli Lederman: 6. Alabama vs. 11. Miami
- Max Olson: Miami was not included but Clemson came in at No. 4.
- Adam Rittenberg: 8. Oregon vs. 9. Miami
- Mark Schlabach: 8. Oregon vs. 9. Miami
- Jake Trotter: Miami was not included but Clemson came in at No. 2.
- Paolo Uggetti: 7. Oregon vs. 10. Miami
- Dave Wilson: 7. Alabama vs. 11. Miami
Miami came in as high as No. 9 and that means no playoff home game in Coral Gables. The most common opponents in the list were Oregon and Alabama with a sprinkle of Notre Dame and Georgia. Clemson was included in every single list and it seems clear that they would all choose the Tigers to win the ACC — only time will tell.