Mario Cristobal, Miami ranked ahead of USC in post-spring top 25
The Miami Hurricanes and Mario Cristobal had a terrible 2023 college football season. If you thought USC had a rough year — which it did — Miami wasn’t any better. In the end, Miami lost more games in 2023 than USC did, finishing 7-6. The Hurricanes lost their bowl game, whereas USC won the Holiday Bowl against Louisville. College Sports Wire has taken notes on what various media outlets are projecting in their post-spring college football top-25 rankings. In a composite set of rankings taken from four different outlets, Miami checks in at No. 19, whereas USC is not even ranked in the top 25.
Cristobal, far more than Lincoln Riley and USC, has struggled at his current job. Riley at least had an 11-win season in 2022. Cristobal has not come remotely close to a New Year’s Six bowl or ACC championship at Miami. Cristobal has struggled to develop high-end offensive talent in Coral Gables. Yes, he has a roster which — on paper — looks very good this season. Still, Cristobal deserves less benefit of the doubt than Lincoln Riley does. It isn’t showing up in the rankings, which reinforces how skeptical a lot of media outlets are toward USC and Riley.
The Trojans will simply have to do something about all of this and prove they’re being underappreciated.
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