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Canes at Number 8 in Preseason AP Poll

For the first time in many years, #TheU may be on the doorstep of the nation’s elite teams

By Austin Pert
NCAA Football: Bethune Cookman at Miami
This is Miami’s first time in the preseason top 10 since 2005
Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The preseason AP poll came out on Monday, and it brings good news.

The Canes checked in at #8. It is their first time in the preseason top ten since 2005, when Larry Coker’s team checked in at number nine before falling to FSU in week 1.

Miami has not been ranked higher than #8 since ‘04, when the Hurricanes were initially ranked fifth, fresh off an Orange Bowl win over FSU, which was Miami’s last game in the Big East Conference.

Virginia Tech Hokies v Miami Hurricanes
Brock Berlin had just graduated the last time Miami was ranked higher in the preseason than they are now
Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images

From 2000-2004, the Canes were ranked in the preseason top five each year.

From week 13 in the 2010 season until after the win over Florida in 2013, Miami was continuously unranked, a drought of almost three full calendar years.

Florida v Miami
Miami’s win over Florida catapulted the Canes back into the top 25 for the first time in 28 polls
Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

2018 opponents ranked in the AP Poll include LSU (#25), Virginia Tech (#20), and FSU (#19). As luck would have it, Miami’s games against the three teams include a home game, a neutral site, and a true road game.

Defending champion Alabama topped the poll, while ACC-foe Clemson came in at second. Mark Richt’s former team at UGA slid in at number three while Wisconsin, Ohio State, Washington and Oklahoma rounded out the rest of the teams in front of the Canes.

Just up I-95, FAU received enough votes to be a de facto #30. Boston College, another Miami opponent, was just five spots below the Owls.