Friday night has claimed another victim in the ACC.
The Louisville Cardinals defeated Miami 24-21 on Oct. 17, handing the No. 2 Hurricanes their first loss of the season. It’s a shocking turn of events for a Miami team that looked utterly dominant during its 5-0 start. While the loss is hardly devastating for Mario Cristobal’s program, it is an unexpected jostling of a team that had been humming along to this point in the year.
Carson Beck struggled mightily after an uneven start to the game, finishing with four interceptions over the course of the game, including a backbreaker on what would have been a potential game-tying drive. Louisville outgained Miami 119-63 on the ground, with the running game often providing a spark for Miller Moss and the Cardinals offense.
With a ton of football left to play on Oct. 18, it’s hard to know exactly what this loss will do to Miami in the polls. But all things being equal, it’s possible to at least find a range of where the Hurricanes could expect to find themselves come Oct. 19.
Miami football rankings: Where will Hurricanes fall in top 25?
Where Miami drops in the polls will ultimately come down to several key games. The first one-loss team in the US LBM Coaches poll is one-loss Alabama, which dropped its first game of the season to Florida State. The Seminoles, in a similar spot, dropped from No. 8 to No. 19 in the Coaches Poll after their loss to Virginia and No. 8 to No. 18 in the AP.
Don’t expect such a sharp drop for the Hurricanes. While they’ll drop below Indiana and Texas A&M (presuming they handle Michigan State and Arkansas, respectively), Ole Miss finds itself with a tough matchup against Georgia and Alabama will have to handle No. 11 Tennessee.
The 7-9 range seems like a reasonable expectation for the Hurricanes, with Georgia and Texas Tech primed to make leaps should they win their games. It isn’t a devastating drop for Miami and, perhaps more important, it still has a path to the ACC Championship.
Here’s a look at the remaining top 10’s schedule for Oct. 18:
Final Ranking Prediction: No. 8
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Where will Miami football fall in top 25 after Louisville loss? Where Hurricanes may land
Reporting by Kevin Skiver, USA TODAY NETWORK / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
