Pressing Questions: Miami's inexplicable loss its worst in school history, which preseason Top 25 teams have disappointed most?

We kick off this week’s mailbag with a historical examination of Miami’s inexplicable loss to Georgia Tech last weekend. Also, which preseason Top 25 teams have disappointed the most at the midway point through the 2023 season? That and more. 

As always, you can submit a question via my internet mailbox at [email protected] or send a DM/Tweet reply @JesseReSimonton.

This week’s questions…

Was Saturday’s loss to Georgia Tech the worst loss in Miami history? — Logan

I’m not a Hurricanes historian, but I mean, how could it not be? Losing a national championship game (ala 2002 to Ohio State) was definitely more painful for Miami fans, but what happened Saturday has to go down as the most inexplicable loss in school history. 

Mario Cristobal’s all-time blunder not to end the game in the victory formation will forever be played in all-time CFP blooper reels. 

I know ‘Hail Flutie’ stung and the ugly loss to FIU in 2019 was an embarrassment, but Saturday’s self-immolating meltdown — where a coach literally stole a victory from his own players — was all-time stuff. 

As longtime Miami radio host Dan Le Batard (and he is a Canes alum and UM historian) said, “We could play that minute over 10 million times and not get the results that ends with Miami losing.”

Ryen Russillo called it the “Mona Lisa” of dumb coaching decisions and that’s an excellent way to frame it, too.

Miami has plenty of losses that meant more but none were dumber than what happened last weekend.

Which teams have been the biggest disappointments from the preseason rankings? — Terry

Looking at the preseason AP Poll Top 25, seven teams are currently unranked: Clemson, Kansas State, TCU, Wisconsin, Texas A&M, Tulane and Iowa. 

I touch on the Hawkeyes and Aggies in more depth later in the mailbag, but both programs qualify here. Iowa is still pathetic offensively, squandering a playoff-caliber defense, while Texas A&M still can’t get out of its own way to win a big game. 

I thought TCU was overrated in the preseason and would regress, so I don’t think they qualify here. Neither really does Tulane (which played several games without starting QB Michael Pratt), Kansas State (which has underwhelmed but not by “biggest disappointment” standards) or Wisconsin (which could be ranked again as soon as next week). 

So that leaves Clemson, and the Tigers are absolutely one of the biggest disappointments thus far in 2023. They had two losses before October, opening the season with a no-show at Duke. They fought valiantly in an OT defeat against Florida State, but the difference in the game was the Seminoles’ transfer portal stars topping Dabo Swinney’s OGs. They just beat Wake Forest 17-12 where their offense looked every bit the same clunky, non-explosive unit it was last season.

Some other disappointments from the preseason Top 25? How about LSU? Jayden Daniels has been fantastic, but the Tigers were a Top 5 team with title hopes, and they already have two losses because they have one of the worst defenses in the country. I think USC deserves mention, too, even though the Trojans are 5-0 and rank 10th currently. Their defense still stinks and the schedule is about to get a lot more difficult, and unless Caleb Williams can be Superman every Saturday, this team is losing 2-3 games again this season.

Is Iowa really going to fire Brian Ferentz if they don’t complete the Drive for 325? — Jake

Probably not. But the truth is: The Hawkeyes were probably never going to fire Brian Ferentz anyway. 

For those who might’ve just come out of college football-free hibernation: During the spring, Iowa amended the contract of embattled offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz, the son of head coach Kirk Ferentz, reworking the language that paused Ferentz’s auto-rollover clause by setting minimum mandates for points per game (25) and wins (7). 

So 13 games (12 + a bowl game) x 25 = 325. The jokes wrote themselves immediately, especially after everyone found out that Iowa’s awesome defensive and special teams contributions would count toward the point total. 

Well six games into the 2023 season, it hasn’t looked quite so funny for those in Iowa City, as the Hawkeyes find themselves right where they have been lately: 5-1 with a Top 10 defense and an offense that ranks dead last (No. 127 nationally) among all Power 5 teams. 

Iowa is averaging 21.8 points per game. The Hawkeyes have topped the 25-point barrier just twice all season — and of their 131 points — 14 have indeed come from defense and special teams. 

The Hawkeyes just beat Purdue 20-14 in a game where quarterback Deacon Hill, who has taken over for the injured Cade McNamara, completed just six of 21 passes (at 5.2 yards per attempt) — zero to receivers. 

And yet, even if Iowa doesn’t average 25 points in 2023 (and the Hawkeyes currently need to average around 28 points per game the rest of the way to equal such a mark), Brian Ferentz probably won’t lose his job at season’s end. 

Why? Because the Drive for 325 was always more nuanced than a hard minimum. For one, Kirk Ferentz remains the most powerful person at Iowa. Was he really ever going to fire his son? 

Secondly, the guy who reworked Ferentz’s contract — former AD Gary Barta — retired this summer, and his replacement Beth Goetz has gone on record noting that she did not negotiate such a new deal. 

Ultimately, Ferentz will either be back on the sidelines calling plays again in 2024, or he’ll find a soft landing spot as an OL coach in the NFL.  

Who needs a road win more – Jimbo and Texas A&M at Tennessee or Billy Napier and Florida at South Carolina? — Drew 

The correct answer for 2023 is Sam Pittman and Arkansas, who are staring at five straight losses with a trip to Alabama. But the Pit Boss wasn’t part of the question.

As for your either or: the answer here is tricky because you can make an argument for both Jimbo Fisher and Billy Napier, but in the end, I think one coach “needs it” more than the other.  

Texas A&M squandered a chance to beat Alabama at home last weekend, and while the hot seat talk around Fisher has cooled of late, it was a major missed opportunity for the Aggies. Turning around and going to Tennessee, a team with some offensive firepower and a front seven that could give TAMU’s struggling OL fits, is hardly ideal. 

But outside of routing the Vols in Neyland Stadium, I don’t think a win or loss changes the narrative around Fisher and Texas A&M in 2023. Perhaps that’s selling the Aggies short, though. A victory would at least ensure they remain in the SEC West hunt, albeit on the fringes after losing the tie-breaker to Alabama. 

So the answer is Billy Napier. UF’s second-year coach could really use a road victory to build some goodwill right now. The Gators are just 1-7 away from the Swamp under Napier — five of the losses coming by double-digits. They haven’t even been competitive at times on the road, and they were egregiously undisciplined in both road games in 2023 (at Utah and Kentucky). 

Florida is about to enter the teeth of its schedule, with four games away from Gainesville over the next month — at South Carolina, vs. Georgia (Jacksonville), at LSU and at Missouri. The Gators will be an underdog in all four contests, but Saturday is their best chance to grab an upset win. The Gamecocks have regressed in 2023, and they’re an injured, undermanned football team right now. 

And yet, Shane Beamer has been great at Williams-Brice Stadium, going 12-4 the last two seasons. Both programs need a win versus the other to ensure a feasible pathway to a bowl berth this fall, so this could be a Desperation Derby on Saturday afternoon in Columbia.