Going into the 2025 college football season, Texas and Penn State were ranked 1-2 in the Associated Press preseason poll. After the first weekend in October, neither team is ranked in the latest AP Top 25 poll.
Penn State suffered an embarrassing 42-37 loss at winless UCLA, their second straight loss after a double-overtime loss to Oregon on Sept. 27. As for Texas, the Longhorns lost at Florida, 29-21, on Saturday, their second loss after a season-opening loss at Ohio State.
Ohio State was ranked No. 1 and Miami was No. 2 in Sunday’s AP poll. In a lot of people’s eyes, the Buckeyes are the top team in the country, but not everyone.
Paul Finbebaum Names Surprising Top Team in the Country
Miami entered Saturday night’s game at 18th-ranked Florida State looking for a fifth straight win to begin the season. It was going to be a challenge after the Seminoles opened the season with an upset of Alabama, but they suffered a loss the week before the Hurricanes came to town at Virginia. Miami walked out of Tallahassee with a 28-22 win.
Miami has now beaten Notre Dame, Florida, and South Florida, all at home, and now at FSU. They are the clear-cut ACC favorite right now, and it feels like it’s their conference to lose. That win over the weekend was enough for Paul Finebaum to name them the best team in the country on the Matt Barrie Show.
“I think you have to say that right now,” Finebaum said. “(Miami) has been tested. Going to Florida State speaks for itself. I know Florida State lost to Virginia; that’s understandable. Miami really looked good. They’ve been tested enough times that I think it’s fair to say they’re the best team in the country.”
Miami looks different this season with Georgia transfer quarterback Carson Beck. He was 20-for-27 for 241 yards and four touchdowns against the Seminoles. Their skill position players are among the best in the country, providing Beck with a wealth of weapons on offense.
Miami Has a Load Road Ahead
During Mario Cristobal’s tenure at Miami, how many times have the Hurricanes been in a position to contend for a National Championship only to come up short? There is no need to look further than last year. Late-season road losses at Georgia Tech and Syracuse cost them a spot in the ACC Championship Game. It also cost them an at-large bid for the 12-team College Football Playoff.
This year, they have yet to leave the state of Florida for a game. They won’t leave the state until a trip to SMU on November 1. The other two times are the last two games on November 22 at Virginia Tech and November 29 at Pittsburgh.
“I don’t think you deny that you have something special going on, but you spend your time on assessing and analyzing the things you can get better at,” said Cristobal. “Whatever shows on film that you are not good at, is going to get exposed. When we were heading out of the hotel, it seemed like everybody was about to get upset. It is playoff football now.”
They’re not halfway through the season yet, but things seem different so far this year in South Florida. Miami is going to become the game circled on everyone’s schedule the rest of the season, and can they finish the job, something that has been a struggle under Cristobal? Time will tell.
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