It’s been quite a week for the Miami Hurricanes. Last Saturday, they closed off the regular season with a 38-7 win over Pittsburgh, sealing a 10-2 record. On Tuesday, they found out that they remained No. 12 in the College Football Playoff rankings. And on Wednesday, during National Signing Day, the program unveiled the No. 1 high school recruiting class in the ACC.
But this weekend, with their playoff hopes hanging in the balance, all they can do is wait.
“We are very realistic,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said on Wednesday, after announcing his recruiting class. “We have been playing our best football for the past month. Our margin of victory is 28 points. Every metric is in the top ten. The word ‘totality’ keeps coming up. I think of what goes into a resume. We have won ten games.”
Indeed — as the Hurricanes wait to see if they’ll land among the final 12 teams, and make the CFP bracket for the first time on Sunday — their recent numbers should work in their favor. Miami finished the year with four straight double-digit wins, including one effort in snowy Pennsylvania, clearly showing a team that knows how to manage the cold and excel outside of its typical warm-weather comfort zone.
“We dominated from the beginning to the end, and it kind of fits what we’ve been doing as a football program,” Cristobal said of the win over the Panthers. “We’re playing our best, and getting our healthiest, towards the end.”
Will it be enough to make the playoff field? A committee in Texas will decide that on Sunday morning before it is unveiled on ESPN. But for now, Miami remains confident.
GETTING HEALTHY AT THE RIGHT TIME
Cristobal this week underlined that returning to near-full health has played an essential part in Miami’s late-season comeback.
“We’re getting healthy. No one ever talked about the value of that,” he said. “In the middle of the season when we got banged up with six-seven starters going down and now we’re almost all the way back.”
While the loss of key players during the middle of a season can seem daunting for any team, this team’s ability to overcome injuries and maintain a high level of performance during difficult circumstances has shown their true resilience and determination both on and off the field. The Hurricanes have proven that they will not allow injuries to hinder their successes, and that has been evident in the trenches.
“Our defensive and offensive lines have been absolutely dominant, and they’ve shown it from Game 1, all the way to now,” Cristobal said. “Forcing opponents to have their worst graded performances against our fronts. I think all that stuff speaks loudly.”
Following the win over the Panthers, quarterback Carson Beck commended the team’s consistency and execution.
“Everything as far as communication and execution up front has honestly been perfect,” he said. “There really haven’t been many mistakes, and if there have been mistakes, they’ve been very minimal, and we’ve overcome them. We’ve been super efficient as an offense, and it makes playing the game a lot of fun.”
In Miami’s final four games, Beck and the offense have scored 38, 41, 34 and 38 points, respectively.
“I believe we can compete with anyone,” he said. “We have a really, really talented team. Not just a few talented players here and there, but a really talented team that is really efficient, that plays really, really well in all phases of the game.”
TONEY REWRITING THE HISTORY BOOKS
The Pittsburgh game didn’t just show what the Hurricanes are made of, but also changed the course of history. Freshman receiver Malachi Toney broke the Miami freshman receiving yardage record with 13 catches for 126 yards and a touchdown. The previous record had stood since 2016.
“Are you surprised? Nobody else is,” Cristobal said of Toney. “All year long, his dedication, his natural talent, and his gameday approach and performances have been absolutely awesome. So, Mali is just getting started. There isn’t a better freshman in the country.”
Beck concurred.
“You guys look at how he’s been able to contribute with little trick plays and line him up in the backfield,” he said. “He’s super impressive and he’s been awesome for us.”
THE POSTSEASON AWAITS … SOMEWHERE
Miami will watch on Saturday, as Duke battles Virginia for the ACC title and a likely CFP berth. Then, the following morning, the Hurricanes will hear if they’ve landed an at-large bid or not, as the second ACC team into the field.
If they do make the CFP, they will almost assuredly open Round 1 on the road. But Cristobal vows his team will not be fazed by any opponent, at any site, in any weather.
“Everyone wanted to see how Miami would do in the cold weather on the road against a Top 25 team,” he said of the win over Pittsburgh. “And I think we answered those questions very quickly.”
Despite playing in conditions that may have favored the home team, Miami never wavered against the Panthers. And to impress the CFP committee one last time, Beck threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver CJ Daniels in the final minute of regulation.
“Everything they said they would do,” Cristobal said of his team, “they came out and did.”
And even if the CFP disagrees on Sunday, Miami will still play in the postseason, at a non-playoff bowl game.
But the Hurricanes want more than that. And for the final four weeks of the season, at least, they played like it.
