Miami Football: Power Ranking the Opponents Most Likely to Upset the Hurricanes
College football is a very hard sport to try and predict, especially when the main voting poll is computer based.
While most teams play cupcake schedules early in the season, Miami doesn't, as they face a good conference team the first week, the Maryland Terrapins.
In fact, Miami only has one team that doesn't belong on their schedule, Bethune-Cookman, but even they were conference champs in the FCS division.
Either way, it's college football and almost anything can happen.
Here is my rating on who has the worst chance to the best chance of upsetting the Hurricanes.
No. 12: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
1 of 12Date: October 1, 2011
Where: Miami
Although the Wildcats play in the FCS division, it doesn't mean they don't stand a chance of upsetting the Hurricanes. Over the last few years, there have been a couple FCS teams that have beaten major college teams.
In 2007, Appalachian State beat No. 5 ranked Michigan 34-32.
In 2010, Virginia Tech lost to James Madison 21-16.
The Hurricanes will be coming off three straight games against good opponents before they play the Wildcats.
Out of the entire Hurricane schedule, though, this is the least threat of an upset that I can see.
Chance of upsetting the Hurricanes: Five percent
No. 11: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
2 of 12Date: October 22, 2011
Where: Miami
Georgia Tech was the No.1 ranked rushing team in the country last year, as they ran for over 320 yards per game.
The only problem they had, though, was they were way too one dimensional and against good opponents; the lack of balance was noticeable.
Now the problem they have is the loss of their top two leading rushers, Joshua Nesbitt and Anthony Allen.
Nesbitt, the quarterback, was a the leader of the team and was somewhat successful, as he led the Yellow Jackets to a 5-4 record before he got hurt for the season.
BackupTevin Washington came in and couldn't get them back on track, as he finished the season 1-3.
With key players missing and a questionable defense, there is a very little chance that the Yellow Jackets will beat Miami.
Chance of upsetting the Hurricanes: 10 percent
No. 10: Duke Blue Devils
3 of 12Date: November 5, 2011
Where: Miami
I know many of you are probably thinking why I think Duke has a better chance than Georgia Tech of beating the Hurricanes, and the answer is simple.
Duke is steadily improving and have a great returning quarterback in Sean Renfree. In Renfree's sophomore season last year, he threw for 3,131 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Against the Hurricanes last year, Renfree threw five interceptions as Miami limited Duke's offense to 292 yards.
I don't see Renfree throwing that many interceptions again, but I also don't see Duke upsetting Miami either.
Chance of upsetting the Hurricanes: 15 percent
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
No. 9: Virginia Cavaliers
4 of 12Date: October 27, 2011
Where: Miami
Last year, Virginia only won one ACC game, and it was against the Hurricanes, 24-19.
They return a total of 14 players on both offense and defense, but will be missing their starting quarterback, Marc Verica.
That leaves the Cavaliers to pick between two sophomores to lead the team.
I think they may be a little better than last year, but not good enough to beat the Hurricanes again this year.
Chance of upsetting the Hurricanes: 20 percent
No. 8: Kansas State Wildcats
5 of 12Date: September 24, 2011
Where: Miami
Kansas State and Miami have never played each other.
Last year, the Wildcats, behind stud running back Daniel Thomas, were 7-6 and averaged over 33 points per game.
The problem was their defense, who gave up 29 points per game and were ranked 78th in the country.
The loss of Thomas to the NFL will be huge, and I just don't see them beating Miami.
Chance of upsetting the Hurricanes: 25 percent
No. 7: South Florida Bulls
6 of 12Date: November 19, 2011
Where: Tampa,FL
The Bulls upset the Hurricanes in Miami last year, 23-20 in overtime.
Once again, it was the turnover that haunted the Hurricanes, as they were able to hold the Bulls under 300 total yards.
Starting quarterback BJ Daniels is a very athletic player who is returning for his junior season. The only problem I see from the Bulls is they are only returning 11 starters on both offense and defense.
The loss of leading rusher Moise Plancher will hurt the Bulls' chances of beating the Hurricanes.
Chance of upsetting the Hurricanes: 25 percent
No. 6: North Carolina Tar Heels
7 of 12Date: October 15, 2011
Where: Miami, FL
The Hurricanes destroyed a good Tar Heels team last year, 33-10.
Miami was able to limit the Tar Heels to 289 total yards while racking up 442 yards of their own.
Even with the multiple suspensions last year, the Tar Heels were good enough to finish the season a respectable 8-5.
This year won't get any easier, as North Carolina is going into the 2011 season without their head coach and entire starting offensive backfield.
They do return some stud defensive players, but the offense will be a huge concern.
The only good thing about this game for the Tar Heels is they have beaten Miami three out of the last four years.
Chance of upsetting the Hurricanes: 30 percent
No. 5: Boston College Eagles
8 of 12Date: November 25, 2011
Where: Miami, FL
Boston College was just 7-6 last year and 4-4 in the ACC.
This year, though, the Eagles are returning eight players on offense and seven players on defense. The return of 1,200 yard rusher Montel Harris will be huge for Boston College.
While the offense should be better this year, their defense is what is scary, as they only gave up 19.5 points per game last year, 19th best in the country.
Still, Boston College's history with Miami (Miami leads the overall series 23-4) is not on their side.
Chance of upsetting the Hurricanes: 30 percent
No. 4: Ohio State Buckeyes
9 of 12Date: September 17, 2011
Where: Miami, FL
Yes, Ohio State is only the fourth best team the Hurricanes face all year, even behind Maryland and my reason is simple.
They are missing their starting wide receiver, running back, quarterback and head coach for the Hurricanes game.
I still think once Devier Posey, Boom Herron, Solomon Thomas and Mike Adams return, they will be a much better team.
As for the second game of the season, missing all those players will be huge, but it's still Ohio State, and they have great players along the board.
Just not enough to have a better chance of beating the Hurricanes.
Chance of upsetting the Hurricanes: 35 percent
No. 3: Maryland Terrapins
10 of 12Date: September 5, 2011
Where: Miami, FL
This is one of the games that really scares me. Maryland had a terrific season last year, as they went 9-4 overall and 5-3 in the ACC.
Quarterback Danny O'Brien had a great freshman year last year, as he threw for 2,438 yards and 24 touchdowns. In the game against the North Carolina State Wolfpack, O'Brien threw for 417 yards and four touchdowns.
He has gotten better over the course of the year, and Miami will have a true test in the very first game of the season.
Chance of upsetting the Hurricanes: 45 percent
No. 2: Virginia Tech Hokies
11 of 12Date: September 5, 2011
Where: Blacksburg, VA
Virginia Tech had a horrible start to last year's season, as they lost their first game to Boise State and their second one to FCS school James Madison.
They ended up turning around their season around and beat the Seminoles in the ACC championship.
This year, the Hokies are only returning five players on offense and will be without Tyrod Taylor for the first time in four years.
They also lost their best running back to the NFL draft, Darren Evans, who had 854 yards and 11 touchdowns.
The thing about the Hokies, though, is they always reload, and I assume it will be no different this year.
Chance of upsetting the Hurricanes: 60 percent
No. 1: Florida State Seminoles
12 of 12Date: November 12, 2011
Where: Tallahassee, FL
I hate to say it, but Florida State is probably the best team in the ACC, if not the country.
They return 16 players from a team that went 10-4 last year, the No. 1 recruiting class according to many publications and a returning quarterback who got a lot of snaps last year in E.J. Manuel.
Manuel is a dual threat quarterback that brings more to the table than Christian Ponder did when he was at Florida State.
The only question mark is how he handles himself in a big rivalry game like Miami.
Chance of upsetting the Hurricanes: 75 percent
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
