Miami Hurricanes rise in polls but could be without key starters
The Miami Hurricanes are on the rise again.
After their thrilling 24-20 come-from-behind victory Saturday in Tallahassee, the Canes (4-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) rose to No. 11 Sunday in the Associated Press Poll and No. 10 in the Amway Coaches Poll.
It’s the first time since Nov. 14, 2010, that Miami is ranked and Florida (3-2) and FSU (1-3, 1-2) are not, according to the AP. USF (5-0) is ranked 18th by the AP and 15th by the coaches, while UCF (4-0) is ranked 22nd by the AP and 21st by the coaches.
UM started the season ranked 18th in both polls.
That’s the good news following UM’s thrilling 24-20 come-from-behind victory Saturday in Tallahassee.
The bad news: The health of star running back Mark Walton, receiver Ahmmon Richards, offensive lineman Navaughn Donaldson and safety Sheldrick Redwine is a major concern heading into Saturday’s game against Georgia Tech at Hard Rock Stadium.
Kickoff for the UM-GT game is at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ABC.
As for Walton, he was carted off the field with 5:35 left in the game after rushing for 7 yards. Donaldson, who limped off the field with what might have been a knee injury, was injured on the same play.
Walton was later seen with his right foot heavily bandaged as he rode on the cart.
“Mark Walton struggled today,’’ coach Mark Richt said Saturday after the game. “Was that because he was hurting? He was still struggling with his health. He felt better than a week ago, going in, but it’s hard to play this type of game with elite athletes on both sides of the ball and not be at 100 percent health.
“So, he struggled.’’
Walton’s injury the last two weeks, when he also left the game in the fourth quarter, was to his left ankle.
Richards, who missed most of fall camp and the first two games because of a severe hamstring pull, “was struggling with his hammy,’’ Richt said Saturday.
Richt will speak to reporters Sunday evening and hopefully have an update.
This story was originally published October 8, 2017 at 2:32 PM with the headline "Miami Hurricanes rise in polls but could be without key starters."