Miami sent warning on Penn State, Florida State’s fate after Week 8 loss to Louisville

Miami sent warning on Penn State, Florida State’s fate after Week 8 loss to Louisville originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The No. 2 Miami Hurricanes suffered a fairly unfathomable 24-21 loss to the Louisville Cardinals on Friday night at Hard Rock Stadium, largely due to four interceptions from Georgia Bulldogs transfer Carson Beck.

Inevitably, the Hurricanes will fall in the rankings, as USA Today’s John Leuzzi notes, just as the Penn State Nittany Lions did with a 42-37 loss to a previously winless UCLA Bruins in Week 6 and the Florida State Seminoles’ 46-38 double-overtime loss to the Virginia Cavaliers in Week 5.

Leuzzi sees the drop as more likely to look like FSU’s after the UVA loss than Penn State’s after the UCLA loss because the Nittany Lions were coming off back-to-back defeats when they tumbled by double-digits in the post-Week 6 poll.

Leuzzi added the obvious caveat that things could shift drastically if Saturday is filled with major upsets after a shocking Friday night where the Minnesota Golden Gophers stunned and manhandled the Nebraska Cornhuskers 24-6.

“This season, losses to unranked teams have been rather sizable and drastic. An example of this is Penn State dropping from No. 6 to No. 22 in the US LBM Coaches Poll following an unranked loss to UCLA, but that did come after a loss to No. 5 Oregon the week prior. A better example for Miami's circumstances might be Florida State dropping 11 spots after a double-overtime loss to Virginia a few weeks back. But given that it is the first loss of the season, voters may be more lenient towards Miami in their ballots,” Leuzzi wrote.

“With that all said, the odds Miami finds itself still in the top-10 or just on the outside of the top-10 in a No. 11 or No. 12 spot are pretty favorable for the Hurricanes.”

Luckily for Mario Cristobal’s squad, losing to Louisville isn’t a bad loss in the Jeff Brohm era. The Cardinals could end up ranked after the win, if anything.

Still, it’s fair to question if Miami ever deserved top billing next to the Ohio State Buckeyes, Indiana Hoosiers, and Oregon Ducks after losing as a multiple-score favorite on their home field.