When the Associated Press delivered their top-25 college football team rankings on Sunday, there were the usual rises and falls, some regardless of a win or a loss. Usually, what sparks the largest debates is the top-10. Those are the premier teams in the league with legitimate aspirations for making the College Football Playoff and playing for a national championship. However, this week's biggest debate comes from the Miami Hurricanes football team, who are now ranked 25th in the country.
How is Miami football still ranked?
Coming into their matchup against fellow ACC opponent, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, the Hurricanes were ranked No. 17 in the country. Since the Texas A&M game, where Miami put up 48 points against the Aggies, the Hurricanes have not only been ranked but rising weekly in the AP poll. But after Saturday's game where perhaps head coach Mario Cristobal had the biggest gaffe of his head coaching career, there was no way the Hurricanes were going to be ranked any longer, right?
Somehow, by perhaps some weird combination of mercy and sympathy, the voters kept Miami in the top-25, in the last spot, which seems ludicrous. But why?
Did voters have sympathy on Mario Cristobal, Miami football?
Voters are usually fairly harsh on teams that lose, especially the way Miami did. Just look at Texas, who was ranked third in the country and lost to an eleventh-ranked Oklahoma. The Sooners rose seven spots, and the Longhorns dropped six. This Miami football team didn't even have the most significant drop of the week. That would be left to Notre Dame, who fell 11 spots to Miami's eight.
Granted, you're also looking at a No. 21 Fighting Irish team that was routed by Louisville and is now 5-2 on the year. The Hurricanes lost by three in the final minute of the game due to some baffling coaching decisions by Cristobal and his staff who just refused to kneel the ball to end the game. But shouldn't that be enough for voters?
Georgia Tech loss, bad coaching makes Miami football not one of the best teams in the country
Coming off their 5-7 season last year, no one knew exactly what this year's Miami football team was going to look like. Improvement and progression were assumed, yet not guaranteed. Cristobal had done wonders on the recruiting trail and in the transfer portal, along with his coaching staff. It was almost as if Year 1 was a mulligan and Year 2 was the real first season.
Miami came in 4-0 and off a bye against Georgia Tech on Saturday and was looking to further rise up in the polls and have a battle of the unbeatens in Chapel Hill when they face North Carolina. That was and still could be essential to determining who represents one side of the ACC Championship game. But really, that's just an afterthought now, as doubt has resurfaced around the Miami football program.
Cristobal put Miami in a horrible position with his coaching malpractice on Saturday night. The whole ending of the game felt amateurish, inferior to the rest of the college football world. That's why it's so surprising to see voters keep the Hurricanes in the top-25. There were far better teams more deserving of being ranked nationally than Miami, even if this was just their first loss.
The top-25 is supposed to be about who the best teams in the country are, and right now, that's just simply not the Miami Hurricanes. You can argue it was just one game, or that, for some odd reason, Miami hasn't won off a bye since 2016. The fact of the matter is, this team wasn't just flat the other night, they were embarrassing. They were a three-touchdown favorite against a team that is still trying to overhaul the Paul Johnson era that ran the triple-option.
Why Miami football is still ranked
Of course, we all know why Miami football is still ranked. And that's for ratings purposes. ESPN had to be hoping that Miami would come in against the Tar Heels unbeaten so they could promote a top-15 showdown on this upcoming Saturday night. Now it will be No. 25 Miami versus No. 12 North Carolina. “The U” is still a brand, and one that voters in the AP poll still want to be relevant again. But with each passing catastrophic loss the likes of which their own head coach, Cristobal, was fully responsible for the other night, the brand loses more and more of its recognition year by year. Miami is not a top-25 team.
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