Miami Hurricanes (in top 10 again) rise in topsy-turvy rankings during strange season

The only thing that seems certain in this crazy college football season is that the Miami Hurricanes’ rankings in the AP Top 25 Poll will change every Sunday.

This week was no different.

In an unpredictable season of COVID-19 and musical chairs in the major polls, the University of Miami rose two spots to No. 10 in the AP Top 25 Poll on Sunday after their original schedule was revamped and they were idle because of a coronavirus outbreak in the Hurricanes’ football program.

The Canes stayed the same at No. 9 in the Amway Coaches Poll.

The COVID-19 outbreak includes UM coach Manny Diaz, who announced on Friday that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was isolating.

Last week the Canes (7-1, 6-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have won their past four games, dropped three spots to No. 12 in the AP Poll for the second time this season after a win. Indiana (4-1), which lost Saturday to No. 3 Ohio State, had previously taken Miami’s former spot at No. 9. Wisconsin (2-1), which lost Saturday to Northwestern, also rose ahead of UM last week, which understandably upset Canes fans because at that point Wisconsin had only played two games. And Oregon (3-1), which beat UCLA on Saturday, was the other team last week that jumped Miami.

On Sunday, Indiana dropped three spots to No. 12, Wisconsin dropped eight spots to No. 18 and Oregon rose two spots to No. 9, just ahead of Miami.

The Canes have either risen or fallen in the AP Poll every week since they initially got ranked at No. 17 after winning their opener against Alabama-Birmingham.

Eighteen games were postponed or canceled this past week because of COVID-19, including Miami’s originally scheduled game on Saturday with Georgia Tech and UM’s originally scheduled game for next Saturday with Wake Forest.

UM is still hopeful, although chances are dependent on other teams’ outcomes, of qualifying for the ACC Championship on Dec. 19.

The first College Football Playoff rankings will be released Tuesday night, with the top four teams after the Dec. 20 final rankings qualifying for the playoffs.

The Canes are scheduled to play next on Dec. 5 at Wake Forest, followed by a home game Dec. 12 against North Carolina and a possible meeting with Georgia Tech on Dec. 19 to end the regular season— that is, if UM doesn’t make the ACC title game or if the result of the game against Georgia Tech wouldn’t affect who plays in the title game.