Can the Hurricanes Continue to Soar to the Top of the AP’s Top 25 Rankings?
Tomorrow night, the 3-0 Miami Hurricanes are set to take on the 1-2 Florida Gators at Hard Rock Stadium. Currently, the undefeated Hurricanes are ranked fourth on the AP Top 25 Ranking behind LSU, Ohio State, and Penn State. With a win over the Gators tomorrow night, could this Miami football team continue to soar within the rankings? Especially with a well-anticipated rivalry matchup taking place between the Canes and the Florida State Seminoles in Week Five.
This matchup is certainly a must-win for the Gators. After UCLA and Virginia Tech fired their head coach, Florida is certainly on the verge of letting go of their head coach, Billy Napier. During his time in Florida, Napier has put up a 20-21 record. His teams are 4-15 against ranked teams and 16-6 against non-ranked teams. It doesn’t help that their quarterback, DJ Lagway, threw five interceptions in the Gators’ 20-10 loss against the LSU Tigers. Lagway became the third quarterback in Florida’s history and the first Gators quarterback since 1992 to throw five or more interceptions in one game.
For Miami, besides their close Week One win against Notre Dame, the Hurricanes have scored an average of 45+ points in the last two games against B-CU and South Florida. Miami’s quarterback, Carson Beck, threw three touchdowns and 340 passing yards last game against South Florida, which is a season-high; however, Beck did throw two interceptions. If the Gators’ defense can take advantage of Beck’s bad throws, we could see a complete upset happen. However, that will be hard to come by, especially with Miami having Mark Fletcher Jr. on the ground and Malachi Toney catching passes. Fletcher Jr. recorded 16 carries for 120 yards and two touchdowns during Miami’s win last week over South Florida. Toney averaged 11 yards per catch after putting up 66 yards on six receptions.
Beck has continued to impress the Hurricanes week in and week out. He can certainly have another big game against Florida this Saturday to improve his confidence, especially heading into a big matchup with the Seminoles next week. The Canes need Beck to play at his highest level in order to stay undefeated and to climb the AP’s Top 25 Rankings. Can the Hurricanes push their record to 4-0 tomorrow night?
