Greg McElroy breaks down what must happen for Miami to win the ACC

During the latest episode of Always College Football with Greg McElroy, the former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback broke down what must happened for the Miami Hurricanes to win the ACC.

“Well, it’d be the first time in a long time that someone not named Florida State and or Clemson has basically won the league,” McElroy started. “Now, we remember the Pittsburgh one a couple years ago. Okay, so like the fake slide, we remember it, the infamous fake slide. But the Seminoles and Clemson have combined to win 12 of the last 13. Where has Miami been in that process? They’ve had some good years, but just not enough to quite get over the hump.

“If Miami wins the ACC, a few things happen. No. 1, Cam Ward was as advertised, transferring over from Washington State. Last year, he of course accounted for about 75% of the team’s total offense. That’s the highest rate of a team’s total offense by any player in that spin, that was at Washington State. They didn’t have a great run game. Now, they had a couple of talented backs, but they didn’t have a great run game. So, Cam Ward had done an awful lot. That was on his shoulders. He kind of had to do almost everything and had to run around and create a lot of amazing things. At Miami, it’s a team that has been built from the inside out.

“So, we know Cam Ward will have probably been a home run, in the event in which they win the ACC.”

Outside of their quarterback, McElroy credited the Miami offensive line and their defense as a whole, believing those units will help lead the Hurricanes if they’re to get the job done in 2024.

“We also know the offensive line, plug and play. It’s been that way. It was one of the best groups in the ACC last year. … The defensive line, massive strength. …  This is a group that’s going to be legit. I mean really, really good along the front defensively, and kind of think about how Mario has kind of built this thing,” McElroy added. “Talked about building it from the inside out. Mario has a long track record of being great recruiting along the offensive line and he’s long coached great offensive lines. They had the second fewest sacks in the ACC last year. They gave just 16. They had the second lowest blown block percentage in the ACC as well at 21%. It’s pretty dang good. So, that group was already really good last year. That’s replaced a couple. I don’t think it’s going to be impossible to replace the pieces that they lost.

“It’s also — Cam Ward can’t play quarterback by himself. That means the weapons probably accelerate how this offense is gonna go. … Now, they’re not going to have to do it with the running back by committee either. … We know who the running back is going to be now, as Damien Martinez, two time all PAC-12 running back, who rushed over 2100 yards last couple years at Oregon State, 16 touchdowns, averaged over six yards per carry, the guy is the real deal. So, very optimistic about what this group is going to be on offense, and defensively, we’ve already talked about that. … They’re going to be great.

“The big question mark is the secondary, and if they win the ACC, the secondary, that question mark is probably gone. … So, I think all those things will probably have to happen for Miami to win the ACC, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility and frankly, it might be the direction I’m leaning right now here in the preseason.”

Alas, Greg McElroy certainly believes it’s possible Miami is able to win the ACC. Time will tell if the Hurricanes make it a reality when the 2024 college football season comes to fruition.