Much like we predicted, the Miami Hurricanes had a small drop in the Top 25, moving down a spot to No. 6, putting them almost how they started the year. It's fine...everything is fine.
There's just not going to be a lot of opportunities for Miami to have a noteworthy win until the road game against Notre Dame on Nov. 7. That's mostly an indictment on how poorly the ACC is regarded among the pollsters. The two best teams in the conference (Louisville and SMU), aren't on the schedule. And we'll have to see how long Virginia Tech and Pitt can hold up. FSU is just awful and Clemson is underwhelming. If we're being honest, Duke might be the best conference team on the schedule.
That's why Mario Cristobal loves to say that college football is not a beauty pageant, and he says that because he knows that the perception of Miami's "easy" schedule might not be reality. Each game is different and provides different challenges. The goal is to win, and if the Hurricanes look dominant in said victory, that's great. If it looks as spotty as it did in Week 3, that's life too.
Week 3 AP Top 25 Poll
1. Texas
2. Georgia
3. Notre Dame
4. Ole Miss
5. Indiana
6. Miami (FL)
7. Ohio State
8. Alabama
9. BYU
10. LSU
11. Texas Tech
12. USC
13. Penn State
14. Tennessee
15. Utah
16. Louisville
17. Iowa
18. Michigan
19. Missouri
20. Oregon
21. Florida
22. SMU
23. Texas A&M
24. Mississippi State
25. Houston
The SEC bias is strong with the new AP Top 25 poll coming out
Listen, I'm not going to rag on Mississippi State being ranked. It is what it is, but is every win in the SEC considered a quality win? Since when did beating South Carolina become a noteworthy accomplishment? It's South Carolina! The Gamecocks are a perennial 6-6 team outside those couple of Spurrier years. They are the official median of Power 4 football.
I will say that I'm glad teams aren't being punished for "quality losses". Houston should remain in the Top 25 after losing a close one to Texas Tech in a game that came down to a failed two-point conversion. I'm not sold on LSU at all this year, but a small drop seems appropriate.
But why does Mississippi State get the benefit of the doubt that isn't afforded to Virginia Tech (46 votes) and Duke (ZERO votes)? Duke has been a MUCH better football program than Mississippi State over the past five years. Mississippi State's best season this decade is 9-4 in 2022. Duke has three nine-win seasons in the past four years.
This is why Miami is in a lose-lose situation with the schedule. None of the other undefeated ACC teams (Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech and Duke) are even in the Top 30 while Texas A&M is still ranked after being dog-walked by Kentucky. And the Wildcats now have over twice as many votes as Virginia Tech!
Teams that play Mississippi State in the near future can now pencil in the Bulldogs as a quality opponent despite no proof that they can keep this up. This is why the polls are garbage these days. The voters have more obligation to conference bias over real results.
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