Miami Collects Two More Mediocre Season Outlooks From National Publications

UM Picked To Finish Fourth and Sixth In ACC In These Two Predictions

Mark Pope doesn’t scour the internet or social media for preseason rankings or all-conference teams. That’s good. Because Pope, the University of Miami junior wide receiver, would probably get frustrated by the lack of love for the Hurricanes.

Two of the most recent outlooks, the USA Today ACC Preview and The Sporting News ACC Predictions, aren’t predicting big things for UM in 2020.

USA Today picked UM to finish fourth in the ACC (behind Clemson, Notre Dame and North Carolina) with a 6-4 record. USA Today put tight end Brevin Jordan and defensive end Gregory Rousseau on its preseason All-ACC team. Rousseau, a possible top 10 NFL draft pick, is sitting out the season due to COVID-19 concerns.

Miami, of course, is coming off a disappointing 6-7 season during which it lost its final three games to FIU, Duke and Louisiana Tech in coach Manny Diaz's first season. The mediocre outlooks for 2020 are a trend.

“I don't really pay attention to a lot of stuff like that,” Pope said of preseason teams and polls. “I just go about my day. But it is what it is. We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do regardless. And that’s to win.” 

Here’s what USA Today said about the Canes: “Two significant transfers have the potential to vault Miami into the national rankings and change the dialogue surrounding second-year coach Manny Diaz. One, Houston transfer D’Eriq King, solidifies things at quarterback. The other, Temple transfer Quincy Roche, gives the Hurricanes one of the nation’s top edge defenders.” 

The Sporting News picked Miami to finish sixth in the ACC behind Clemson, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Louisville and Virginia Tech. The publication didn't predict a season record for the Canes but sixth-place in the ACC is probably no more than six victories.

TSN picked King as the ACC’s Impact Transfer.

Miami continues to earn a bit more respect in national polls that rank only the 76 FBS teams playing in the fall.

USA Today has UM ranked No. 17 in its preseason ranking of the 76 FBS teams playing in the fall.