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FanPulse Top 25 — Week 4

Miami got back to .500 on the field, but the confidence rating suffered in the process

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL: SEP 21 Michigan at Wisconsin
I get it, Michigan. Taylor ran for a bunch of yards against Miami before, too.
Photo by Lawrence Iles/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Welcome back to the SB Nation and State of the U FanPulse Top 25 rankings!

SB Nation put the call out to fans from all CFB team sites to rank their top 25, and here’s the results after week 4.

With several ranked teams losing this past weekend, the rankings have seen a bit of a shakeup. Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, LSU, and Oklahoma are still the top 5. The big movers were Wisconsin and Michigan, with the Badgers jumping WAY UP and the Wolverines dropping WAY DOWN after Wisky’s beatdown of Big Blue on Saturday.

Even with that being the case, things look pretty similar to what they’ve been, especially at the top. That’s because the top teams still haven’t lost, or if they have it’s been a “quality loss”. Think Notre Dame this past weekend. I hate them and Brian Kelly is an asshole who once sent a student manager up in a cherry picker in 70+ MPH winds in the name of practice video, an assignment that led to the manager, Declan Sullivan, dying. But, they lost a close game at Georgia, so even though they’re not unbeaten anymore, they’re still a highly regarded team, and if you watched that game, that stands to reason.

Let’s turn the focus to the Miami Hurricanes, who entered the season ranked 22nd in the FanPulse. After 2 losses to open the season, Miami has worked (far too hard) to get back to 2-2 after wins against Bethune Cookman and a 17-12 game against Central Michigan. Before I go on, here’s the SOTU FanPulse for Week 4.

State of the U Illustration by Mike Meredith

I cautioned last week that the blowout over Bethune was to be expected and not to get too excited, and Saturday’s slogfest against Central Michigan brought the fan base back to earth QUICKLY. There was clear regression across the board (well, except for Punter Louis Hedley; he was good....when he wasn’t holding the ball too long and getting a punt tipped by a free running defender) and it raises big questions about the future of the season for Manny Diaz’s team.

After the confidence poll rebounded last week (up to 88.9% from 66.7% after winning the first game of the year following 2 losses), things took a downturn again this week after that disgusting performance against Central Michigan.

Now sitting at just 68.9%, fan confidence is nearly as low now as it was after losses to Florida and North Carolina. That’s why I opined on Twitter the other day that this was the most “loss-like” win since Nebraska 2015 (or North Carolina 2017 as noted by many in response to my tweet). I was pretty tough on the team in the The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly after the game, but several SOTU readers said my grades — all C’s and D’s — was TOO GENEROUS for the performance seen on Saturday. And you know what? On second look, I tend to agree with them.

A third of the way through the 2019 season, the Miami Hurricanes need to get things together AND SOON. Or not. Whatever.

Didn’t sign up for the FanPulse yet? Mad all your friends get the email on Saturday night to fill out their rankings while you sit and twiddle your thumbs? Click this link to sign-up and get in the game already! STOP WASTING TIME!!!

Go Canes