USA Today Coaches Poll released Monday essentially picks Miami No. 2 in Coastal and 4th best in ACC
The preseason Coaches’ poll was released today, and the Miami Hurricanes checked in at a respectable No. 17.
Or, maybe, not so respectable?
That’s because while Miami was picked by ACC media to win the Coastal, this poll is essentially picking the Hurricanes to finish second in the division. Yes, Pittsburgh was chosen at No. 16 (with 450 points to UM’s 433).
The poll also for all intents and purposes says the game at Clemson is the Canes’ toughest, with the Tigers ranked No. 4 in the nation behind only No. 3 Georgia, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 1 Alabama.
The Canes’ third game of the season will be the first big test off of overmatched Bethune and Southern Miss, with Texas A&M checking in at No. 7, just behind No. 6 Michigan and No. 5 Notre Dame.
Other ACC teams in the poll were NC State at No. 13 (second best in the conference behind Clemson) with Wake Forest No. 19.
In the “others receiving votes” category you also could find North Carolina (34 points, good for No. 33 in the nation) and Louisville along with Florida State (1 point apiece, tied for 53rd with Texas-San Antonio).
Now, for a moment, let’s flash back to the ACC preseason poll. The Canes got 98 of the 164 votes to finish in first place in the Coastal, with Pittsburgh finishing No. 2 with 38 first-place votes. North Carolina was third with 18.
In other words, just a couple of weeks ago one set of media saw Miami as clearly the better team compared to Pittsburgh. Now another set of media says “Not so fast.”
What gives?
Well, it’s always been an Us Against the World mentality at The U, right? Some things never change, and it’s on this crop of players to show the world that this team is on the right track.
