We are in October, and Miami is one of 22 undefeated teams left in FBS College football. The Hurricanes are ranked 17th, but the team may be overlooked nationally.
Miami is undefeated after four games, and its record can be measured with some of the best in college football.
According to ESPN's strength of record, Miami is ranked 11th in the country among undefeated teams. Also, regarding strength of schedule, Miami ranks 11th among teams with unblemished records.
Undefeated teams ranked ahead of Miami in Strength of Schedule and Strength of Record:
Yet there are still teams ranked ahead of Miami despite these metrics:
Undefeated teams ranked ahead of Miami despite Miami having a better strength of schedule and strength of record:
And then there are the one-loss teams. These teams are given "credit" for losing close to teams with impressive records.
Teams ranked ahead of Miami with one loss:
Based on the teams they've beaten this season, Miami can make a case for being better than most of the above-listed teams. For example, let's take Texas A&M, which Miami beat by 15 points.
The Aggies are now 4-1 and beat Auburn 27-10. Auburn nearly pulled the upset over Georgia on Saturday. An easy argument can be made that A&M is better than all the teams that Georgia, Michigan, Washington, USC, Oregon, Oklahoma, and North Carolina played this season.
Even one-loss teams Oregon State and Ole Miss ranking ahead of Miami is questionable. Oregon State's best win was a two-touchdown win over Utah, and Ole Miss needed every second to beat LSU for their best win of the year. A&M could certainly challenge and maybe beat LSU or Utah.
Miami also took care of business in its opener against Miami (OH) 38-3, and the Redhawks are undefeated since that game and defeated Cincinnati in a 31-24 overtime win along the way. Oklahoma also played Cincinnati only beating them 20-7.
Washington State (beat Oregon State and Wisconsin) and Alabama (beat Ole Miss) for signature wins of the season that can be reasonably compared to Miami over A&M.
The only teams that have wins that logically can be considered better than Miami's resume thus far are Texas (beating Alabama and Kansas), Ohio State (beating Notre Dame), Florida State (beating LSU and Clemson), Penn State (beating Iowa and West Virginia), and Notre Dame (nearly beating Ohio State and beating Duke).
Based on the above logic, I would have Miami ranked as high as sixth, but the Hurricanes shouldn't be ranked lower than eight if we compare who each team has beaten thus far. The fun part is that Miami gets to prove it on the field.
Updated:
After the bye week, Miami remains at the top in significant statistical categories.
According to PFF, Miami ranks first overall, with a 97 grade.
The Hurricanes also rank third in offense (93.2), Fifth in passing (91.6), fourth in receiving (85.9), third in rushing (91.6), third in run defense (91.3), tenth in tackling (81.5), and fourth in creating pressure (84.5).
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