I’ve now gotten my hands on every major college football preview magazine. While Miami is a top ten team in each of them, the Pick Six Preview Magazine gives the Canes higher value than the rest.
The best thing about that? Pick Six has offered the most accurate predictions between 2014 and 2025.
While Athlon, Lindy’s, and Phil Steele each rank Miami 7th, Pick Six puts the Hurricanes at number 3. Miami sits behind top-ranked Oregon and number two Ohio State. Then Notre Dame, Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech, Indiana, and Ole Miss round out the top ten.
Pick Six joins the other preview magazines in predicting Miami to win the ACC for the first time ever. Publisher Brett Ciancia slots the Canes into an opening-round bye of the College Football Playoff. He has Miami matching up with the winner of a first-round clash between Indiana and Ole Miss.
When I read Pick Six Previews, the first things I look for are the rankings for the top units in college football. Miami stacks up well nationally. In the ACC, it’s practically a landslide.
In the ACC, Miami is considered to have the top unit in the conference at quarterback, running back, receivers and tight ends (those two get grouped into one ranking), offensive line, defensive line, and defensive backs.
The only Miami position group that isn’t ranked atop their conference is linebacker, which ranks third.
Nationally, Ciancia ranks his top 15 for each of those position groups. Miami comes in 5th at quarterback, 5th at running back, 2nd at receiver and tight end, 8th at offensive line, 4th at defensive line, and 7th at defensive back. The only unit ranked outside the top 15 is linebacker.
The biggest thing that stands out to me is how much more respect Pick Six gives to Miami’s offensive line compared to the Phil Steele magazine. Steele ranked Miami’s OL 39th nationally.
Does he expect us to believe there are 38 offensive lines better than a unit coached by Alex Mirabal and Mario Cristobal? Steele ranked Miami’s OL 6th in the ACC, behind Virginia, SMU, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, and Pittsburgh. It’s laughable to think Miami’s offensive line would be average within the conference.
Yes, Miami will have to replace former starters Francis Mauigoa, Anez Cooper, Markel Bell, and James Brockermeyer, but the players stepping into those roles will be a combination of former blue-chip high school recruits and veteran former co-starters.
Matthew McCoy spent the majority of spring football working as the first-team right tackle. McCoy has been a left guard starter for the past two seasons and has blossomed under OL coach Mirabal. Samson Okunlola, described as a co-starter by Mario Cristobal, will likely hold down a starter role at either guard or tackle. Okunlola is a former five-star recruit. Fellow former five-star Jackson Cantwell, a true freshman phenom from Nixa, Missouri, spent most of spring as the first-team left tackle. Florida recruiting guru Larry Blustein has compared Cantwell to Orlando Pace. The probable starting center is Ryan Rodriguez. He’s entering his sixth year at Miami and fourth under coach Mirabal. Sophomore mauler Max Buchanan, a consistent performer in practice, is likely to lock down the fifth starting spot.
While this group might experience a small drop-off from last year’s offensive line, there is no way Miami’s O-Line tanks all the way down to 39th in the country.
