Preseason AP Top 25 poll released and Miami in the thick of the college football race
The Miami Hurricanes once again will start the 2022 college football season ranked among the top 25 teams in the two major polls.
The Associated Press released its preseason AP Top 25 poll Monday afternoon, and the Hurricanes are No. 16 — one spot higher than they were in the the USA Today’s preseason coaches poll released last week.
The coaches ranked UM No. 17.
The perennially vaunted Alabama Crimson Tide are No. 1 in AP’s initial poll, with the defending-champion Georgia Bulldogs at No. 3. The full top 10: No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Clemson, No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 6 Texas A&M, No. 7 Utah, No. 8 Michigan, No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 10 Baylor.
UM garnered 476 points in the AP Top 25 Poll, landing just above the No. 17 Pittsburgh Panthers, who garnered 383. The Canes’ highest ranked opponent will be the No. 4 Clemson Tigers, whom they’ll meet in Clemson, South Carolina, on Nov. 19.
Miami will also face the No. 6 Texas A&M Aggies on Sept. 17 in College Station, Texas and No. 17 Pittsburgh at Hard Rock Stadium in the regular-season finale Nov. 26.
The NC State Wolfpack and Wake Forest Demon Deacons are the only other Atlantic Coast Conference teams in the top 25, at Nos. 13 and 22, respectively. The North Carolina Tar Heels, whom the Hurricanes face in October in Miami Gardens, are also receiving votes.
Miami, 7-5 last season, finished 2021 unranked in both the AP and coaches polls. They started at No. 14 in the AP preseason poll and at No. 16 among the coaches before starting 2-4.
