So they have taken the humble route.

Even though, historically, UM football and humility are about as familiar with each other as Kanye West and tact, these Hurricanes have chosen to downplay their accomplishments in this young season and hold back some of the bravado the program is known to have displayed.

That doesn't mean the rest of us have to.

Based on what we have seen so far, it seems perfectly OK to raise expectations to levels that would have seemed unreasonable before the season began. Even if it's based on just two victories, one being a bobbled ball away from a loss, there really is no reason to hold back the enthusiasm when it comes to this year's Canes and their potential.

The theme around the team goes something like this: ``We're happy, but we haven't done much yet,'' and coach Randy Shannon is trying to make some incomprehensible analogy that compares the buzz about his team to the dark sides of an Oreo cookie (apparently, it's a trap of some sort).

Although it might be true that the season is merely two games old for the Hurricanes, it's difficult to contain the excitement when this team passes the eyeball test with flying colors.

Forget the fact that the Canes have defeated two ranked teams. Just watching this group play tells you that this isn't merely premature hype built around a couple of empty victories.

How many of the teams ranked near the No. 9 Hurricanes have put on weak displays in their victories and merely stayed where they are based on reputation? Several. What has No. 7 LSU done to warrant its lofty perch? And does anyone really believe No. 8 Boise State, with teams such as BYU and Utah falling last week, is really top-10 material? (This, by the way, is coming from an Associated Press poll voter who has both those teams ranked above UM, but not for long if the Canes leave Virginia Tech with a victory.)

REASON TO BELIEVE

The Hurricanes have given us every reason to believe that they belong in the top 10 of college football, if not higher.

Sure, conventional wisdom will tell you that the leap from last year's 7-6 record to national elite is too huge to take, and that there is bound to be a slip-up or a sudden crash to reality.

But your eyes also tell you that this year's team is exponentially better than last year's. So why limit yourself?

It looks like a team that, defensively, is not only improving by the game, but within each game. And it's a team that, even if the defense is far from the dominant unit this program is used to having when it's near the top, can compensate with one of the most potent offenses in the country.

It looks easy for Jacory Harris and his glut of wide receivers because it is that easy. It's that easy when Harris has time to throw and when there appears to be an offensive game plan that complements the personnel. Sometimes that's enough to make up for shortcomings in other areas. Sometimes that's enough to catapult a team directly to the top of college football.

It's not as if there isn't precedent for this kind of leap. The Gators went from four losses in 2005 with an inexperienced group to an unexpected national championship a year later.

Whose to say these Hurricanes, who have the talent and the year of added experience, can't make a similar leap?

Virginia Tech is the toughest test to date, but most of the supposed experts are expecting the Canes to leave Blacksburg with a victory. If that happens, the bandwagon might soon be at full capacity.

All of a sudden, Oklahoma would appear not only beatable, but if quarterback Sam Bradford doesn't return for the game, it probably will be an underdog to the Canes. How many people considered that even possible entering this season?

And the Hurricanes would get their chance to show off for an even bigger audience, with ESPN's College Gameday likely coming to campus for the Oklahoma showdown that probably would be moved to prime time Oct. 3.

If that doesn't scream the Hurricanes are back, you're just refusing to listen.

A NO. 1 RANKING?

And although we're getting ahead of ourselves, what happens if the Hurricanes get through this four-game minefield unblemished? Well, ESPN's Todd McShay said Thursday that the Canes should be ranked No. 1 if that plays out (and let me be the first to say that a UM-Florida national championship game would be the greatest game ever).

Why choose now to be humble? Because they are right; they haven't done anything. Two losses in the next two games, and suddenly the expectations are at ground level again.

But based on what they have shown so far, at least we know the Hurricanes are capable of catapulting themselves to the top. And that's a legitimate reason to send those expectations skyrocketing.

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