After their thorough beatdown of Notre Dame on Saturday night, some are now wondering if the Miami Hurricanes should be the new top team in the rankings.
Even with their convincing win over the Virginia Tech Hokies last weekend, some were still a bit skeptical about just how good the undefeated Miami Hurricanes are. But, that question would be answered on Saturday night in Week 11 as the Canes welcomed one of the best teams in the country to Hard Rock Stadium, the No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
The answer to that question? Yes, the 2017 edition of the Hurricanes is very, very good. From start to finish on Saturday night in primetime, as they raced to a 41-8 win, Miami straight up dominated a Notre Dame team that has proven to this point to be very talented. The Miami defense was able to break out that infamous turnover chain a few times and the offense had its way with the Irish defense. It was pure and utter domination, leaving no room for doubt that Miami is … back.
Given the manner in which Miami easily took care of this Notre Dame team, though, a new question is beginning to make its way to the forefront regarding the Hurricanes. That question being: With the chaos that took place on Saturday, namely the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs being throttled by the Auburn Tigers, should the Hurricanes be the new No. 1 team in the College Football Playoff Rankings when they’re released on Tuesday evening?
You could certainly make a few cases to validate Miami being the No. 1 team in the nation by keeping its undefeated record intact in such an impressive fashion, but the short answer to that top ranking question is no.
When the new rankings are released on Tuesday, you could very much expect the Alabama Crimson Tide to take over the top spot on the playoff perch as we enter Week 12 next weekend. Alabama struggled on Saturday night to pull out a win, but that was against a very good and No. 16 ranked Mississippi State team. The Bulldogs gave Nick Saban and the Tide all they could handle, but a late Jalen Hurts touchdown pass was able to seal the win and vault Alabama to No. 1 in the playoff rankings come a few days.
However, don’t expect this Miami team to be disrespected too much after this amazing win over Notre Dame. While Alabama will be No. 1, the Hurricanes should be right behind them now in the No. 2 spot, which isn’t a bad thing at all. When it comes down to the College Football Playoff, as long as you’re one of the top four teams, you’re in a position you need to be in. There is also the wrench of Oklahoma potentially taking that No. 2 spot after they cruised to a win over TCU, but with an unblemished record and a win over Notre Dame, there’s really no reason to keep the Canes from the No. 2 slot.
On Tuesday, Miami shouldn’t be the No. 1 team in the nation, but they very much deserve to be right on the heels of Alabama, or No. 3 in the worst-case scenario. Either way, the Canes’ days of being unbeaten and out of the top four have come to an end thanks to their Saturday evening domination.
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