ESPN's Heather Dinich singles out Miami's defense as the biggest key to make College Football Playoff

Miami boasted one of the best offenses in the country last season, led by No. 1 draft pick Cam Ward at quarterback, Oregon State transfer running back Damien Martinez and Miami‘s all-time receiving leader Xavier Restrepo. The defense however was less than stellar, which led to the Hurricanes surrendering a 21-0 lead to Syracuse in their season finale.

This disaster of a loss for Mario Cristobal‘s team knocked Miami out of the ACC Championship game and ultimately the College Football Playoff. With the offense once again loaded this season with heralded Georgia transfer Carson Beck at quarterback, it will once again be up to the defense to decide Miami‘s ceiling.

ESPN’s Heather Dinich singled out Miami‘s defense as their biggest key to making the College Football Playoff on Friday’s edition of “SportsCenter.”

“When you look at the Canes last year and their chase for the ACC Championship Game, it wasn’t the offense and Cam Ward that was a problem,” Dinich said. “It was one of the best in the country. It was the defense that held them back, particularly the secondary. So if Miami can make improvements on that side of the ball, they have a new defensive coordinator in Corey Hetherman and went into the Transfer Portal heavily (particularly in the secondary).”

Miami addressed secondary concerns in Transfer Portal

“They have about five starters coming back on that side of the ball overall, but if they can really shore up that defense (particularly in the secondary), you would think that Carson Beck at quarterback can have enough weapons around him in terms of the offense. This would be one of the most complete teams that they’ve had under Mario Cristobal.”

Along with returning seven of their 14 leading tacklers from last season, Miami hauled in nine defensive players from the portal. This includes four-star defensive backs Ethan O’Connor (Washington State) and Charles Bentley (Michigan State), four-star safety Zechariah Poyser (Jacksonville State) and three-star safety Jakobe Thomas (Tennessee). Cristobal and his staff addressed their problems face on and seem to have a more complete defense this season.

“We trust a blueprint that has stood the test of time,” Cristobal told the ACC Network back in early July. “We’re progressing fast and strong. We are proud of the fact we had a 10-win season, but we’re not content with it stopping there. We fell short at the end. For us naturally the next step in our progression is to take that next step as a program and start playing for championships.”