Miami, Ohio State, and Oregon – those are your top 3 teams in College Football. If we’re going by resume, then you have to put Miami #1. How else do you evaluate teams if not by resume?
Miami already has 3 wins over teams that were ranked when they played them: Notre Dame, USF, and Florida State. Ohio State has one over Texas. Oregon has one over Penn State.
When the polls come out on Sunday, Miami will still have the best win of the three. Notre Dame will be the highest-ranked win of the three. If you didn’t catch Saturday’s results, Texas got beat by a Florida team that Miami beat by 19. That Oregon win over Penn State, yeah, the Nittany Lions couldn’t beat the worst P4 team in college football, coming into week 6, the previously 0-4 UCLA Bruins.
Ohio State fans, in particular, have already bristled at the mere suggestion of not being considered #1. I’m not sure why. This is a snapshot in time. I’ll grant that Ohio State is the best defensive team I’ve seen this year, and their QB Julian Sayin keeps improving week after week. They are most certainly capable of winning the national title.
Oregon’s win over Penn State is diminished, but the Ducks will get to make their case against a quality Indiana team next week.
While Florida State may fall out of the polls, remember they have a double-digit win over surging top 15 Alabama in Week 1 at home. Miami left Doak Campbell with a not as close as the score indicates 28-22 victory.
This is a resume ranking, and it’s inarguable that Miami’s on the weekend of October 4 has a better one than Ohio State or Oregon.
Can Miami win the national title, though? You bet, but a slightly concerning trend is emerging for the Canes that they need to address.
They are dominating opponents for large chunks of games, but not always able to close them out in a comfortable fashion.
Against Notre Dame, they almost let a 10-point 4th quarter lead get away from them. They had a 28-3 lead going into the 4th quarter, and went into cruise control as Florida State as the Noles scored 19 straight. The game was never truly in doubt, but if FSU recovers a final onside kick, the unthinkable was in play.
That said, it’s a minor complaint, and it’s time to rank Miami where they belong, and that’s at the top of the polls this week.
