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DMoney said:
We finished 22nd last year, hired a couple expensive coaches and brought almost everyone back. Top 15 is a very realistic expectation without having to live in the past.
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This is reasonable.

It is exactly correct.

Based on our talent, and our improvement in coaching assistants, finishing anywhere outside the top 15 is a ā€œbelow expectationsā€ performance rating. For those that have ever had to write a performance review.

For those trying to denigrate Miami by saying this is a good Sun Belt performance, fūvk off.
 
ScubaCane said:
I would agree that top 15 is a reasonable expectation with the talent on this team. However, I've seen enough from Manny to know that he isn't the guy to lead this team to long term success and I don't want him fluking into a 9-10 win season and earning an extension. I know that changing coaches every few years isn't a recipe for success, but it's necessary when you continually make terrible hires.
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Same fears here my man and then I have the thought of maybe he will figure it out and be the guy... Its an endless cycle of mental gymnastics.
 
Winning our next 4 games would have us ranked inside the top 15. We have Michigan State, CCSU, UVA, and UNC. If we can be top 15 by mid season we are on track. For all the doom and gloom that exists on this site, we have 4 winnable games that would rewrite this season for us.

I love the way it's set up for us. A Michigan State game I think is good for us to play, a cupcake game to get players experience, a Thursday night home game against UVA going into the biggest game on the schedule @UNC.
 
Nina Agdal Scooter GIF by Sports Illustrated Swimsuit

Waiting for the rest of the Mopes to get in here
 
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The problem is we lack a top 15 coach and until that is fixed this program has zero shot manny diaz was set up to win new facility no sanctions like previous bum coaches had to deal with also manny got the luxury of fla st being the worst it has been in years which should help translate into better recruiting and he has failed like no coach ever has in this program until we get this fixed we have zero chance
 
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D$, do you feel like Manny is the guy that can lead this program to be a consistent top 15 team that contends for the playoffs as a Top 4-10 team every 2-3 years or so

In year 3 of his HC tenure and year 6 of the defense being ā€œhisā€ IMO thereā€™s plenty of a sample size to see what Diaz is leading us to; which is mediocrity and inconsistent/soft team that doesnā€™t show up in big games and is not prepared/plays down to lower level opponents

This week is HUGE in my opinion. If we look like **** again and lose I think Diazā€™s time is up and itā€™s just a matter of when the wheels fall off and we fire him and Blake
 
bacane said:
Ok, forget what recruiting rankings say or what a poll of writers/coaches say. Performance over a period of time is what matters. Miami is NOT a top 15 program and unlikely to enjoy such a lofty ranking this year. The notion or suggestion of a current ceiling being higher than top 15 or aspiring to such reeks of a bunch of fanboys. We all live in the past and want great things, but if we're honest Miami is slightly more than a middle-of-the-road ACC team.

The facts and record are what they are.

This says it all: Amazingly, we only finished Top 15 once in the past sixteen years.
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I think a lot of posters on these boards (not specifically you, just generally speaking) don't know what a 15th ranked team looks like.

Teams with 3 losses will be in the top 20. A Miami team with 2 losses and a bowl win finishes in the top 15.

For reference, the spread between Bama and the number 15 team would be around 17.5 on a neutral field... same as the spread vs Miami (and Bama would probably cover by a zillion).

The teams around us in the top 25 - Michigan (they must be hurting even more than our fanbase is), Auburn, BYU, Arkansas, UCLA, Iowa State, Va Tech, Ole Miss... This is right where Miami should be.

There is about a 3 point power rating difference between number 11 and number 25. Anyone can beat anyone. Everyone in that range is just ranked in the polls based off who won/lost most recently.

Miami gets the national spotlight once again this weekend, with a noon game on ABC. A convincing win would take a lot of the spotlight/heat off Manny, being that there are already plenty of other storylines with the USC opening and everything else. If the team looks outcoached and sloppy again, even in winning UM may drop out of the top 25, depending on what else happens. And the heat on Manny will be turned up that much more.
 
What do recruiting rankings mean when your recruits have not been coached up since forever. Those rankings based on supposed potential their senior year in high school. We seemingly rarely develope that potential
 
DMoney said:
The Athletic released a poll of coaches/ADs on the best jobs in college football. Miami finished 13th.

247's "Team Talent Composite" calculates total recruiting rankings for each team's roster. Miami finished 13th.

Before the season, the AP poll picked us 14th. Our NFL numbers fluctuate but are now in the 10-13 range.

What's the point? I think a fair current expectation and goal is the Top 15. Anything outside of that is a disappointment, and anything within that is progress. Amazingly, we only finished Top 15 once in the past sixteen years. That was 2017, when we finished 13th.

We all know the ceiling is higher than Top 15. This is a program that has won championships in three different decades. But the best way to move towards that long-term goal is to hit the realistic short-term goal. This team needs to beat Michigan State, perform well in the ACC, hopefully win a bowl and finish in the Top 15. That is a fair expectation.
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Very true, but my-Oh-my how the once mighty have fallen ...
 
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The eyeball test says we aren't top 15. Our offense and LBers are holding this team back from top 15.

The hope:
Williams at RT and Scaife/Justice at RG provide more consistent OL performance. Sadly, I'd say Gaynor is the #1 issue and I doubt we see him pulled.
At LB, can Huff have a positive impact on the game? Can Cave/Brooks get back to 100% to start taking reps from Jennings? Then KSmith has to get back to 100% come ACC play.

Then you have calls: very few outside zone run calls. very few man blocking calls. Both of which looked good on Saturday. How about more Arroyo/Mallory blocking for WR? We don't go back to plays that work for 15 yards. When we do, the blocking is 6 on 3 and we give up a sack.
 
I'd say that, all things considered, a final ranking of 15 would be the lowest acceptable finish. Given the players we've recruited, the assistant coaches we've hired, the returning experience & production on this team, and the resources available to the program, there are not 15 programs in this country bringing more to bare on this season. The only reason top 15 even feels like an aspiration is our dreadful run over the past 15 years.
I want Coach Diaz to succeed because I want the program to succeed. But if he doesn't get us a top 15 finish this season, then I'll be convinced that we need to move on. I thought before the season started that 11-1 should be the aspiration, and I still think that, although I'm not confident that we'll get there.
 
At this point I'd settle for just not looking like ***. It's one thing to look like *** against alabama, but looking like *** against App. St? This is year three with coaching changes all across both sides of the ball and it's still the same **** performance week in week out. If needing a field goal with two minutes left in the 4th quarter to beat app st is who you are. well you aint top 15. This team and coaching staff really needs to step up or what should be the floor is gonna look like the ceiling. Lashlee and Diaz need to show us something this weekend or they should consider putting their houses up for sale real soon. Aint nobody got time for being a Coastal cellar dweller.
 
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I donā€™t want to be considered a mope and i really hope we do finish top 15 but i just donā€™t see it. We literally donā€™t do anything well on offense. And defense looks like itā€™s going to be average at best this year.
 
DMoney said:
The Athletic released a poll of coaches/ADs on the best jobs in college football. Miami finished 13th.

247's "Team Talent Composite" calculates total recruiting rankings for each team's roster. Miami finished 13th.

Before the season, the AP poll picked us 14th. Our NFL numbers fluctuate but are now in the 10-13 range.

What's the point? I think a fair current expectation and goal is the Top 15. Anything outside of that is a disappointment, and anything within that is progress. Amazingly, we only finished Top 15 once in the past sixteen years. That was 2017, when we finished 13th.

We all know the ceiling is higher than Top 15. This is a program that has won championships in three different decades. But the best way to move towards that long-term goal is to hit the realistic short-term goal. This team needs to beat Michigan State, perform well in the ACC, hopefully win a bowl and finish in the Top 15. That is a fair expectation.
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This is a great post, mostly because it's exactly where my mindset is at. Would I love to compete for a championship? Of course. But realistically we would need a top-5 head coach followed by 2-3 years of top 5 recruiting classes and a bit of luck. So for now I would be perfectly content to get 10 wins, win a bowl game, finish in the top 15 and at least be COMPETITVE against the elites (Alabama, Clemson, etc.).

I hate the whole "Miami's back" mantra. Just get us to a point where we beat every team we are supposed to beat and compete against the big boys to where we at least look like an emerging threat to their existence.
 
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