Why Miami No. 1? 'They've Won The Games That They're Supposed To Win'
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Life is good if you are a Miami Hurricanes fan. For those who are neutral parties, seeing UM at the top of the College Football Playoff Rankings was no surprise.
All signs point in the right direction for the Hurricanes as the No. 1 team in the country in the AP, USA Today, and the first CFP Rankings.
The Hurricanes have two Heisman candidates, are one of three remaining undefeated teams, and have a top-20 win on their resume, with a likely elimination-style game against newly ranked No. 11 Notre Dame.
However, with many asking why Miami is number one, CFP Committee chairman Hunter Yurachek explained why the Hurricanes stand out among the teams in their pod.
"First of all, you watch Miami play, and you watch them play especially on the offensive side of the ball, and they have a dynamic playmaker at quarterback and at wide receiver,," Yurachek said. "They've got a really strong running game. They're really strong up front defensively, and they've won the games that they're supposed to win."
Breaking down the pods and how the Hurricanes are in the spot there goes back to last season. Remember, the Hurricanes and Fighting Irish were so far in the first poll that until conference championship weekend, that stack of four teams never showed up until the final second.
To star off the year in this group with Miami stands No. 2 Georgia (7-1, and No. 3 Utah (8-0).
"Yeah, I mean, I will tell you that I think the committee was really unanimous in that Miami was the No. 1 team in the country," Yurachek said. "After that, I think there was great debate in ranking everybody from 2 through 25. It's not that Miami was a definitive easy choice, but that may have been the easiest decision that the committee had to make.
"There's some really good college football teams throughout this top 25 from Miami, Georgia, and Utah, so great discussion, especially at the top there because you want to make sure you get that right."
Nevertheless, the bigger issue now lies in the next game against the Fighting Irish in South Bend. What was a top-five game in the country has shifted to a CFP elimination game, with more pressure on the Irish now than ever.
Miami has a chance to knock its long-time historic foe out of the playoff race completely, and an opportunity to show it is the "North Star" in college football.
They've got a great opportunity this weekend to go on the road to play a Notre Dame team that's ranked 11th in our poll this week, and they can solidify their position at No. 1 obviously with a win in that game on Saturday," Yurachek said.
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.
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