With Ohio State capturing the natty, it's officially on to the 2025 campaign. After failing to reach the College Football Playoff this winter, will Mario Cristobal and the Miami Hurricanes be able to change things next season? Fans sure hope so.
In recent days, plenty of polls for '25 have already come out. CBS' Dennis Dodd has Miami at No. 3 in his, which was the highest from all the major outlets. However, it looks like ESPN sees things a bit differently for the Canes leading up to Week 1 in late August.
ESPN reporter Mark Schlabach came out with his way too early Top 25 poll and he barely has Miami in his rankings. That's right, in a bit of head-turning fashion, he has Miami checking in at No. 23, which is hard to believe.
ESPN has Miami ranked No. 23 in its way too early Top 25 poll for next season
"The Hurricanes will have to replace much of the core that looked loaded for bear in 2024 but came up short again with a late-season loss at Syracuse," Schlabach wrote. (Cam) Ward, a Heisman Trophy finalist, won't be easily replaced. Miami is banking on former Georgia starter Carson Beck fully recovering from surgery to repair his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his throwing elbow. He isn't expected to resume throwing until sometime this spring.
"The Hurricanes will have to restock their receiver room after the top six pass catchers from 2024 left, but they did get CJ Daniels (LSU), one of the top wideouts in the portal. The Hurricanes have also brought in cornerbacks Charles Brantley (Michigan State), Emmanuel Karnley (Arizona) and Ethan O'Connor (Washington State) and safety Zechariah Poyser (Jacksonville State) to improve a porous secondary. Miami coach Mario Cristobal fired defensive coordinator Lance Guidry and replaced him with Minnesota's Corey Hetherman."
We see where Schlabach's concern is coming from, as yes, it's not going to be easy to replace Cam Ward, who is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. However, the addition of Carson Beck for the offense is something that fans are still hyped up about.
With a new look for the secondary, including the new addition Xavier Lucas, there's hope that the defense can do a 180 with Corey Hetherman taking over the unit. It could prove to be a special season for the Canes, who could still add a star wideout sooner rather than later too. We expect this team to push for an ACC title and CFP spot next season. To be No. 23 in a preseason poll seems way too low for this program.