Miami Football: Hurricanes could be playoff bound in 2018

Schedule and Preview

If Miami wants to make a playoff run under Mark Richt, this might be the year to do it. We’ve talked about the talent and experience on both sides of the ball. We’ve talked about how close they were last year. But the most important thing about 2018 for Miami is how light this schedule is.

Week one against a questionable LSU team is their biggest game until October. There are maybe three teams on this schedule that I see as being ranked when Miami plays them. This is a very, very friendly schedule. If Florida State and Virginia Tech are actually good, this becomes tougher, but for now, this is a very encouraging opportunity for The U.

Prediction: 11-1

It was very difficult to find a loss on this schedule. I think Miami beats LSU in week one, and the next real challenge doesn’t come until Florida State comes to town on October 6th. North Carolina and Toledo aren’t pushovers, but I’m not worried about them. If Miami can survive a young FSU team, I think they start out 10-0 once again, running through an ACC filled with decent but not great teams.

The biggest chance at a loss seems to be at Virginia Tech. It comes after an always physical matchup with Georgia Tech, and the Canes may be a bit beat up. Blacksburg is a tough place to win, and while I’m not super high on Virginia Tech after their awful offseason of attrition, I do think they’ll still be pretty good.

11-1 should be enough to be in playoff contention heading into the ACC title game. If they can knock off Clemson or whoever represents the Atlantic (it’ll be Clemson) in that game, the Hurricanes will be playoff bound. I’ve always wanted to say this in an article, so I’m going to do it: “The U” is finally back. Let’s enjoy the resurgence with some help from the musical stylings of Uncle Luke.