Steele’s Preseason Top 40 ranks Mario Cristobal’s team seventh in America. Steele explains that his Top 40 is based on where he believes clubs will finish the season.
Steele places Miami tenth, trailing Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas, Penn State, Notre Dame, Alabama, Utah, and Michigan.
Following Miami, the top fifteen are Iowa, Clemson, Florida State, Ole Miss, and Oklahoma State.
Here’s how Steele explains his Miami ranking:
“Mario Cristobal attacked the portal hard, bringing in QB Cam Ward, RB Martinez, and a slew of other players to supplement an already talented roster. During his four years at Oregon, he won two PAC 12 titles and helped transform the programme into a powerhouse. Miami possesses my #7 offensive line and #12 defensive line, but only has a #43 schedule and no road games against top 20 teams.”
Steele loves Miami’s trench work. He is also correct in predicting the strength of the schedule. Miami does not face Clemson or NC State this season, but they do play Florida State at home. On paper, it’s a better schedule than they’ve had in previous years.
Steele said that Miami’s offensive line is ranked seventh in the country, while the defence is 12th. Several other Hurricanes position groupings put him among the top fifteen.
He placed Miami’s quarterback room 10th, running backs seventh, linebackers fifteenth, and receivers eleventh. Miami’s inexperienced defensive backfield was the only squad he did not place in his top 15.
Steele stated that he was tempted to rank Cam Ward higher than 10th, but did so because to his 46 fumbles over the previous four years.
Alex Donno