Miami Hurricanes Move Up Ten Spots in AP Poll

Put on upset alert, the Miami Hurricanes had a statement making 45-10 win at Appalachian State. They were rewarded by the AP voters by having the largest jump in this week’s poll.

Miami moved up to 15 from 25 after the resounding win. The Hurricanes also moved up to 19th from 25th in the USA Today Coaches’ poll. This is the highest Miami has been ranked since November 2, 2013, when they fell from seventh to 14th following a 41-14 loss to Florida State.

This also marks the first time November 10, 2013, that the ‘Canes have been ranked for three straight weeks. They were ranked for ten straight weeks that season before dropping out of the poll after three November losses to the Seminoles, Virginia Tech, and Duke.

Like this season, Miami did not start the 2013 season as a ranked team. They debuted in the poll week two following a 21-16 win over Florida to start 2-0.

The Loss in 2013 to FSU was the first of three consecutive that plummeted the ‘Canes out of the Top 25. They did not make it back until after the season-opening win over Florida A&M. With a very winnable game at Georgia Tech in two weeks, the ‘Canes have a chance to move into the top ten with a convincing win.

Miami’s schedule doesn’t look as daunting as it did before the weekend began. Florida State was completely taken apart by Louisville 63-20 and Notre Dame had to score 21 unanswered second half points to avoid a blowout loss to Michigan State. The Spartans scored 36 unanswered points of their own to take a 36-7 third quarter lead.

Miami’s 2016 schedule has gotten increasingly more difficult by the week. The Hurricanes have a tough October upcoming. After Georgia Tech the ‘Canes will face FSU, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Virginia Tech in successive weeks.

Amazingly, the only team without a loss of those five teams is the Yellow Jackets. Florida State has a lot of question marks after one of the worst losses in school history. The Seminoles had to score twice in the last 5:19 to avoid eclipsing a 49-0 loss to Florida in 1973. It was FSU’s worst loss since a 59-20 loss to Oregon in the 2014 Rose Bowl. It was Jimbo Fisher’s worst loss.

North Carolina has won two in a row after a season-opening loss to Georgia. Virginia Tech is 2-1 with a loss to Tennesse sandwiched around wins against FCS Liberty and Boston College. Notre Dame’s defense is a mess. The Irish are giving up an average of 38 points per game.