Miami has an average projected seed of 4.54 in the post-Week 2 ESPN "College Football Playoff predictions: Who's most likely to make the field," published on Saturday night after most of the games had concluded.
Miami is seeded between four and six among the 11 ESPN writers polled to make CFP rankings. South Florida, whom Miami hosts on Saturday, is the most common CFB opponent among the ESPN reporters and writers. Nine of the 11 writers project Miami to play South Florida or for the Bulls to need a win to play the Hurricanes.
South Florida has quickly earned their way into the CFP discussion with wins over Boise State and Florida, who were ranked when the Bulls beat the Broncos and Gators. South Florida is attempting to become the first team since the 1987 Miami national championship team to begin the season with three consecutive wins over ranked opponents.
South Florida has overtaken Tulane as the top Group of Five team. The Bulls were chosen unanimously to earn the Group of Five spot in the CFP after Week 2 results. A Miami win over South Florida would give the Hurricanes a second victory over a ranked opponent after beating Notre Dame in Week 1.
Writer | Miami CFP Rank | Projected CFP Opponent |
|---|---|---|
Andrea Adelson | 5 | 12 South Florida |
Kyle Bonagura | 6 | 11 Oklahoma |
Bill Connelly | 6 | 11 Texas Tech |
David Hale | 4 | 5 Georgia vs. 12 USF |
Eli Lederman | 4 | 5 Oregon vs. 12 USF |
Max Olson | 5 | 12 South Florida |
Adam Rittenberg | 4 | 5 Oregon vs. 12 USF |
Mark Schlabach: | 5 | 12 South Florida |
Jake Trotter | 4 | 5 Oregon vs. 12 USF |
Paolo Uggetti | 5 | 12 South Florida |
Dave Wilson | 5 | 12 South Florida |
Miami vs. USF in Week 3 will have College Football Playoff implications
Kyle Bonagura and Bill Connelly (the SP+ guru) are the only ESPN writers out of the 11 to project Miami as low as a six seed. Bonagura projects Miami to host 11th-seeded Oklahoma in the first round. Connelly projects Miami to host Texas Tech.
Four ESPN writers project Oregon to host South Florida in the first round, with the winner playing Miami. Oregon or South Florida would set up an intriguing second-round game with Miami either way. Miami does not have Oregon on their future schedule and a CFP game would set up a reunion with Mario Cristobal.