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ESPN College Football Analyst: Miami CFP Title Favorite After Ohio State Stunner

The Hurricanes jumped all over Ohio State and held on for quarterfinal win.

Kyle Koster

The Miami Hurricanes advanced to the College Football Playoff semifinals with a win over Ohio State.
The Miami Hurricanes advanced to the College Football Playoff semifinals with a win over Ohio State. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After just barely gaining inclusion into the College Football Playoff—a decision that some believed was not warranted—all Miami has done is knock off Texas A&M in College Station and thoroughly outplay Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl. They are now just two wins away from capturing a national championship and considering their recent performances, there's plenty of reasons to believe they can provide the selection committee with some enormous validation.

Did many believe that 10th-seeded Miami would be in this position? It doesn't matter because here they are and the state of play has obviously changed. So much so that ESPN college football analyst Joey Galloway now believes the Hurricanes are the team to beat.

Not sold? Consider that quarterback Carson Beck followed up a 103-yard passing performance against Texas A&M with 138 yards against Ohio State. And Miami has still won two enormous games against some of the best teams in the country.

"It wasn't the 138 yards, it was the way it was done," Galloway said on the first Get Up of the year. "It was the timely fashion of when he needed to make a play to move the chains. The way he played in that game now makes Miami look like a team that can win it all."

"The weak link when you watch them play when they lose games was Carson Beck turning the ball over. Now he's gone two straight games without turning it over. They've won those football games. The way he's playing makes them look like a favorite."

It turns out all that handwringing about Miami making the 12-team tournament may have been a bit excessive. Or perhaps Notre Dame would have done the same thing had they made the field and the snub is actually worse now.

What's less debatable is that the Hurricanes are capitalizing on the opportunity.

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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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