ESPN writers make a clear and nearly unanimous statement about how they feel regarding the Miami Hurricanes’ playoff chances in 2025
The Hurricanes are getting some preseason love from the experts.
The Miami Hurricanes came within a whisker of finally making it into the field of the College Football Playoff for the first time in the program’s history. Unfortunately, a late season swoon cost them, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, and a 42-38 loss to Syracuse in the season finale left them out of the ACC championship game and just outside of the playoff field at #14 in the final rankings.
The Hurricanes will look very different in 2025, with Cam Ward and a host of his weapons out and Carson Beck and some young players stepping into the spotlight. Fortunately, they should look substantially different on the back end of their defense as well, which can only be an improvement.
Will the Canes take that next step and make the playoff in 2025? Most ESPN pundits think so. ESPN’s college football writers put out their playoff field predictions, and the Hurricanes made the cut for 10 of 12 writers.
As one would expect, Clemson – the ACC media preseason pick to win the conference crown – is predicted by everyone to win the ACC and land in the top four of the playoff rankings. That puts Miami in most of the experts’ minds to be one of the last teams in. Miami is anywhere between 9 and 11 in most writers’ fields, with the Canes coming in at a high spot of #8 in Andrea Adelson’s field. Max Olson and Jake Trotter were the only two writers to have Miami out of the playoff.
At this point, simply making the playoff would be a terrific step forward for Miami and Mario Cristobal, serving as tangible proof that the program is moving in the right direction under his leadership. They’ve got better than a puncher’s chance, too. They should be far better in the secondary with a new defensive coordinator (Corey Hetherman from Minnesota), new position coaches (Zac Etheridge and Will Harris) and new talent (Wisconsin CB Xavier Lucas and Jacksonville State S Zechariah Poyser). They don’t leave the state of Florida for a game until November 1 against SMU. And they get two chances at resume building wins at home against Notre Dame and Florida.
We’ll find out quickly if the Canes are for real in 2025, as they host last year’s national runner up in the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Sunday night at 7:30 pm ET at Hard Rock Stadium in a top ten clash.
