Miami holds steady in the AP Top 25 Poll and that's the best thing that could happen

The Miami Hurricanes stayed put at No. 7 in the new AP Top 25 Poll. Miami put together a dominant performance on offense in a 45-6 win over Stanford. The Hurricanes received one first-place vote -- the fewest first-place votes among the top 8.

There wasn't a reason to expect too much movement after Week 1 because the top 25 went 24-1, with the lone loss, Louisville, coming against Ole Miss, which stayed at No. 9 this week.

The Hurricanes were part of a large contingent of teams that did what they were supposed to do against opponents that weren't expected to stay on the field with them. LSU, which destroyed Clemson 51-10, moved into the top 10 at No. 8, and Oregon, which earned a hard-fought 34-27 win over Boise State, dropped a few spots to No. 6. The Tigers received five first-place votes, which certainly triggered their surge. 

And then there was Michigan, which fell out of the polls completely after the Big Ten gifted them a 13-12 win over Western Michigan. Outside those three teams, the movement was just a spot here or there by a few teams.

Miami stays put in the Top 25 and the ACC gains one

While it's just business as usual for the Hurricanes, there's plenty of reason for celebration in the ACC. Louisville didn't drop out of the poll despite the 41-38 loss to Ole Miss and the conference gained a team with Virginia jumping in at No. 25. The Cavaliers put a hurting on NC State two weeks ago. That gives the ACC four teams in the top 25 and, unfortunately, Miami doesn't have any of them on its regular-season schedule.

As for the teams that are on the Hurricanes' schedule. Notre Dame slid up a spot to No. 3 and the Irish are the only ranked team currently on the slate. Two other opponents, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech,  received votes this week.

Mario Cristobal is probably happy with Miami's No. 7 ranking

Cristobal isn't much for the fanfare and he, like his mentor Nick Saban, doesn't want his team infected with the "rat poison." So it's likely the coach is fine with this ranking. It gives the Hurricanes plenty of room to grow and a clear list of teams that they will eventually have to prove they are better than. Miami, sitting at No. 7 while playing a schedule where the Hurricanes will be heavily favored in 11 out of the 12 games, leaves no room for complacency because even one loss could mean a huge tumble in the polls.

As long as Miami keeps winning, the Hurricanes will move up. One team in the top five is guaranteed to lose this week when No. 1 Ohio State plays No. 4 Texas. But there's nothing for the Hurricanes to do other than focus on the challenge in front of them and look as impressive as possible.

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