Miami is headed home to play for a national championship, and the Hurricanes' latest big win has changed the way national voices talk about the program. On ESPN's First Take, the morning after Miami's 31-27 College Football Playoff semifinal win over Ole Miss, analyst Ryan Clark dropped a line that was meant as a compliment, but instead just came off like he is living the past.
"The Miami Hurricanes are the most traditionally 'SEC football team' in all the country. This team absolutely dominated from a physicality standpoint, from an athleticism standpoint."Ryan Clark
"The Miami Hurricanes are the most traditionally 'SEC football team' in all the country. ... This team absolutely dominated from a physicality standpoint, from an athleticism standpoint."
— First Take (@FirstTake) January 9, 2026
—@Realrclark25 on the Miami Hurricanes win over Ole Miss pic.twitter.com/1TPgwjja3R
Ryan Clark is right about the dominance
Miami played bully ball against an SEC opponent on a CFP stage. The Hurricanes held the ball for 41:22 and Ole Miss had it for 18:38. Miami piled up 459 total yards, ran 88 plays, and finished with 28 first downs. The Hurricanes were moving the chains and forcing Ole Miss to defend drive after drive.
They also ran the ball 51 times for 191 rushing yards. Mark Fletcher Jr. led the way with 133 yards on 22 carries, while CharMar Brown added a touchdown and helped Miami keep pounding.
Ryan Clark is wrong about the "SEC" part
Why is it when a team dominates physically, analysts still describe it as SEC football? The SEC has clearly taken a step back in recent years, even if the NFL production is just as high as before. Maybe Clark should have said, "The Miami Hurricanes are the most traditionally 'Big Ten football team' in all the country."
An SEC team hasn't even appeared in the national championship game since Georgia won the 2022 title. The last two FBS national champions were Big Ten teams (Michigan in 2023, Ohio State in 2024) and this year, Miami will face off against Indiana in the CFP title game. That pretty much tells you where the momentum is right now.
Still, the NFL pipeline is what it has always been. The SEC just posted a monster draft year in 2025, including 79 total selections and 15 first-round picks.
It probably should also be mentioned that ESPN has deep ties to the SEC. That doesn't mean every ESPN analyst is consciously trying to prop up the SEC, but it needed to be acknowledged. Regardless, it was still meant as a compliment to the Miami program, even if we're picking apart Clark's words.