With the 2024 college football season drawing near, interest in the Miami Hurricanes is only going to rise. The Hurricanes of this season are regarded by many as the greatest Miami has fielded in many years.
Some of college football’s most well-known analysts are projecting the Hurricanes to finish with a 10-2 or 11-1 record, win the ACC Championship for the first time, and secure a spot in the new 12-team College Football Playoff.
Since the 2017 campaign, Miami football has not won ten games, and since 2003, when they were eliminated from the Big East Conference, they have not won eleven games.
Miami has not fielded a club that could reasonably be considered a 10- or 11-win squad over the previous 20 seasons. The ACC schedule and a little bit of good fortune were on their side even in 2017. They won three of their ten games by a margin of five points or fewer. The group this year is far more talented than the one from back then.
We’ll have to wait and see if luck will be on their side again in 2024, but the schedule certainly appears favorable once again, even more so, really.
Miami is one of seven teams from the Power 4 conference that only face one opponent ranked in the preseason. The other universities are SMU, Pitt, Iowa, Kansas, Cincinnati, and Rutgers.
The Hurricanes’ one ranked opponent will be their archrival, Florida State, which enters the season ranked No. 10 in the country.
Miami hasn’t beaten Florida State since the 2020 season. That game was at the Hurricanes’ home stadium, Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, the site of this year’s matchup.
Last year, the Hurricanes started off 4-0 before losing six out of their last nine games. They faced then-ranked three opponents: No. 23 Texas A&M, No. 12 North Carolina, No. 4 Florida State, and No. 9 Louisville. They went 1-3, beating an Aggies team that finished 7-6 and unranked. The Tar Heels also finished unranked.
Hurricanes third-year head coach Mario Cristobal is looking for a benchmark season, hoping to capitalize on all the advantages seemingly in place for the first time in his tenure. He has a stacked roster built through highly rated recruiting classes and transfer portal additions. Couple the talent with an advantageous schedule, and the Hurricanes could return to prominence once again this season.