UM Plays Top 25 Opponents in Three of Next Four Games
Yes, Miami is ranked No. 17 in this week’s AP Top 25 thanks to its 31-14 victory over Alabama-Birmingham. But according to the new polls, which don't include inactive Big Ten and Pac-12 schools, UM has a tremendous opportunity to make a statement because its schedule now includes five AP Top 25 teams and four schools ranked in the Amway Coaches Poll.
In fact, the newly-released polls mean three of Miami’s next four games are against Top 25 opponents – Saturday at No. 18 Louisville, Oct. 10 at No. 1 Clemson, and Oct. 17 at No. 25 Pitt.
Overall, five of Miami's 10 remaining games are against Top 25 opponents.
The 17th-ranked Hurricanes begin their Top 25 march at No. 18 Louisville at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Cardinals Stadium. ESPN's GameDay will broadcast its weekly pregame show from Louisville.
So even if Miami loses at Clemson, as expected, it could be a Top 15 team in late October if it takes care of business against its other Top 25 opponents.
The ACC has seven teams in the AP Top 25 – No. 1 Clemson, No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 12 North Carolina, No. 17 Miami, No. 18 Louisville, No. 20 Virginia Tech and No. 25 Pitt.
The ACC has six teams ranked in the Coaches Poll – No. 1 Clemson, No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 11 North Carolina, No. 16 Louisville, No. 18 Miami and No. 19 Virginia Tech.
Miami’s last victory over a Top 25 team was last season’s 17-9 home victory over No. 20 Virginia to even the Canes’ record at 3-3 overall and make them 1-2 in the ACC.
In 2018, Miami also defeated a Top 25 opponent when it knocked off No. 25 Pitt in the regular season finale, 24-3, to improve to 7-5 overall and 4-4 in the ACC.
The last time UM was in the AP Top 25 and defeated a fellow Top 25 opponent was 2017 when the No. 7 Hurricanes crushed No. 3 Notre Dame, 41-8, at Hard Rock Stadium.
