The Miami Hurricanes have had a very nice start to the season. Unappreciated by some folks standards, as the Hurricanes have among the best trio of wins in the country over Notre Dame, South Florida, and Florida in this
early 2025 season.
That was good for third this week in the AP Poll, as Miami dropped from 2 to 3 behind Oregon after the Ducks won at Penn State in double overtime 30-24. But ESPN’s Heather Dinich still sees the Hurricanes as the top team in her most recent College Football Playoff rankings released over the weekend.
This is what Dinich had to say about Miami in the top spot:
The Canes had a bye week to prepare for their trip to Florida State, but entered this week ranked No. 4 in ESPN’s Strength of Record metric — a statistic that has historically aligned with the selection committee’s top four teams. With Notre Dame’s resounding win at Arkansas, the Canes’ season-opening win against the Irish continues to shine. Miami’s wins against South Florida and Florida — both of which had bye weeks — continue to collectively help separate the Canes.
The Hurricanes are obviously in a spot to build on that despite Florida State’s loss to Virginia on Friday night in Charlottesville. Florida State fell but are still inside the top 20 in the polls, so an opportunity for another ranked win remains for Miami. And for FSU, that win over Alabama is starting to look better and better for the Noles with the way the Crimson Tide are surging since their 31-17 loss, so FSU’s reputation will always be elevated a bit this year by that win.
And let’s face it, it’s Miami-FSU. This will be a physical, nasty battle that will still be a tremendous win for either program regardless of record. And a lot of people will have their eyes on it in the 7:30 pm ET time slot on ABC on Saturday night. ESPN’s FPI gives the Canes a 63.6% chance of winning.
Yes, rankings are rat poison, but it’s still nice to see someone plugged into the committee having a high estimation of the Hurricanes’ resume to date. And hopefully after next Saturday, that opinion will be shared by many others around the country.
If Miami keeps with that “go 1-0” mentality they’ve had and continue the same focused, high level of play they’ve been at for their first four games, you have to like their chances that it’ll happen.
