Poll Watch: Miami Inches Closer to the Top 10 after Louisville Win

With the North Carolina Tar Heels game cancelled and the BYU Cougars vs. the Army Black Knights postponed, the Miami Hurricanes were involved in one of the two matchups that resulted in a AP Top 25 team losing this week. The Hurricanes throttled the Louisville Cardinals 47-35 and the Marshall Thundering Herd took down the Appalachian St. Mountaineers. Days ago, the Big Ten announced that the conference will return to action on October 24. Several teams, including the Canes, will have a month to accumulate quality wins before the Ohio State Buckeyes, Nebraska Cornhuskers, and others re-enter the playoff chase.

The AP Top 25

The Greenville News-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Content Services, LLC

1.Clemson Tigers

2.Alabama Crimson Tide

3.Oklahoma Sooners

4.Georgia Bulldogs

5.Florida Gators

6.LSU Tigers

7.Notre Dame Fighting Irish

8.Texas Longhorns

9.Auburn Tigers

10.Texas A&M Aggies

11.North Carolina Tar Heels

12. Miami Hurricanes

13.UCF Knights

14.Cincinnati Bearcats

15. Oklahoma State Cowboys

16.Tennessee Volunteers

17.Memphis Tigers

18.Bringham Young Cougars

19. Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns

20.Virginia Tech Hokies

21.Pittsburgh Panthers

22.Army Black Knights

23.Kentucky Wildcats

24. Louisville Cardinals

25. Marshall Thundering Herd

Other teams receiving votes: Baylor 89; West Virginia 59; SMU 57; TCU 30; Virginia 30; Boston College 23; Arkansas State 20; Mississippi State 6; UAB 5; Texas Tech 5; Ole Miss 4; Appalachian State 3; UTSA 2; Troy 1; Coastal Carolina 1

The Coaches Poll

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

1.Clemson Tigers

2.Alabama Crimson Tide

T-3.Georgia Bulldogs

T-3.Oklahoma Sooners

5.LSU Tigers

6.Florida Gators

7.Notre Dame Fighting Irish

8.Auburn Tigers

9.Texas Longhorns

10.Ohio State Buckeyes

11.Texas A&M Aggies

12.North Carolina Tar Heels

13.Penn State Nittany Lions

14.Miami Hurricanes

15. UCF Knights

16.Louisville Cardinals

17.Wisconsin Badgers

18.Oklahoma State Cowboys

19.Michigan Wolverines

20.Memphis Tigers

21.Tennessee Volunteers

22.Minnesota Golden Gophers

23.Bringham Young Cougars

24.Virginia Tech Hokies

25.Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns

Other teams receiving votes: Kentucky (146) 0-0; Pittsburgh (140) 2-0; Army West Point (121) 2-0; Baylor (57) 0-0; Louisville (53) 1-1; SMU (42) 2-0; West Virginia (41) 1-0; Marshall (40) 2-0; Iowa (39) 0-0; TCU (26) 0-0; Virginia (24) 0-0; South Carolina (22) 0-0; Boston College (20) 1-0; Appalachian State (12) 1-1; Ole Miss (10) 0-0; Mississippi State (7) 0-0; Arkansas State (6) 1-1; NC State (5) 1-0; Georgia Tech (4) 1-1; Nebraska (4) 0-0; Coastal Carolina (4) 2-0; Air Force (3) 0-0; Louisiana Tech (2) 1-0;

Analysis

Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Rhett Lashlee’s up-tempo attack and D’Eriq King’s tremendous play propelled the Canes to number 12 in the AP Top 25 and to 14 in the Coaches Poll. Voters couldn't deny the explosiveness they saw on Saturday night including, back-to-back 75-yard touchdowns in the third quarter. The Coaches Poll was also very mindful of the Big Ten’s announcement. Five Big Ten teams took their place back on the list. The AP Poll elected to exclude those teams from their poll. The SEC will finally get underway this week which, should make for an interesting shuffle in the poll in the coming weekend.

The Hurricanes will look to continue their ascent up the polls next week when they take on the Florida State Seminoles. However, I’m not sure how much value the voters will see in the destruction of such a horrible team.

Go Canes!