Miami Football: Hurricanes could be playoff bound in 2018

Mark Richt has turned Miami football into a top 15 program for the first time in nearly two decades. Can they take the next step in 2018? Is “The U” back?

Miami started off 2017 about as well as they possibly could have. After starting the season in the general discussion but nowhere near the top of it, the Hurricanes blasted through their schedule. They beat Florida State and held on for three straight close wins over Georgia Tech, Syracuse, and North Carolina.

Then, after looking sluggish for nearly a week, they blew Virginia Tech and Notre Dame out of the water in back to back weeks. The first two ranked teams on their schedule and Miami just crushed them. A win over Virginia put them at 10-0, and moved them to second in the country with just one regular season game. They looked playoff bound, led by a dominant defense.

Unfortunately, the offense fell apart, they struggled to pass in all three of their final games, and against Pitt, Clemson and Wisconsin, the Canes managed to completely collapse, finishing 10-3. There are plenty of reasons to still be excited about Mark Richt’s Hurricanes though. With 14 starters back, and one of the nation’s best defensive backfields, Miami should once again be among the nation’s best.

With a manageable schedule, and a fairly week division, the path to the College Football Playoff is very easy to find. If Miami can throw the ball consistently, and their defense remains dominant, they could be headed down that path in 2018.