Cote: Book it. Miami Hurricanes will vie for ACC title, make playoff in huge return to power | Opinion

Whenever I’m in the mood to incite an argument or invite a reaction of skepticism or scoffing, I tell Miami Hurricanes fans how good -- no, really good -- the Canes are going to be in football this season.

They want to believe so much, but can’t quite let themselves. The hopes have been high before, then dashed. Their scars have hardened.

So they remind me (again) how the run of five national championships ended in 2001, before the current players were even born. How UM has lost five bowl games in a row of and 11 of the past 12. How the supposed savior, Mario Cristobal, has gone 12-13 his first two seasons, and 1-5 vs. ranked teams -- and lost a bowl game to Rutgers.

I nod sympathetically, because that’s all true, and to some those things alone understandably suggest the Canes might be so far from national relevance their fans would need a Hubble telescope to see it.

Now let’s get to the present, and open it like the gift it is.

As UM staged its first preseason practice on Wednesday and Cristobal Year 3 officially unfurled, what The U has, right now, is a team that will win 10-plus games, be deep in the mix to reach the ACC Championship Game and earn a place in the newly expanded 12-team College Football Playoff.

Book it, bank it.

“I don’t think there’s ever an expectation from the outside that can match the expectation from within,” said the coach after the first practice. “The excitement in this building is through the roof.”

(Then again, he admitted, excitement had better be on Day 1, “otherwise it’s time to go sell ice cream.”)

Cristobal’s time back in Miami as head coach -- he played offensive line on UM’s 1989 and ‘91 national championship teams -- has been a slow build set to announce its full arrival with a flourish.

His first season back in Coral Gables after success as Oregon coach was rough (5-7), a plain disappointment. His second year was noticeably better (7-6). All the while, as fans and media were obsessing on the win total, Cristobal was scoring big in traditional recruiting and, as much or more, in the transfer portal.

“We took a good step last year and expect to take an even bigger one this year,” as Cristobal puts it. “The talent in the building has improved. An enhanced caliber of talent in the lockerroom and in the coaching staff. strong. A strong, unbreakable culture. We feel awesome about the people in the building. They run to work. They run to the fight.”

The portal this past offseason gave Miami its transfer get and most dynamic quarterback it has had in years in Cam Ward, who arrived from Washington State and was a heavily sought, a national prize. The magic portal also delivered tailback Damien Martinez, from Oregon State. As well as blur-fast receiver Sam Brown from Houston, four proven defensive linemen and more.

Miami is loaded, folks. The roster construction looks airtight. The coaching staff finally is where Cristobal wants it. And a proven, fifth-year senior QB poised for stardom is out front

Ward, Martinez and returning receiver Xavier Restrepo give UM three players on the Maxwell Award watch-list for college player of the year. One other school has three players. It’s powerhouse Ohio State.

“There’s a lot of different ways we can attack opponents,” says Cristobal. “Cam Ward will allow Miami to do things Miami hasn’t been able to do in a long, long time.”

UM’s three Maxwell Award winners have been Vinny Testaverde in 1986, Gino Torretta in 1992 and Ken Dorsey in 2001 -- each a quarterback, each a national champion.

That is the company Ward has been invited to and is expected to keep.

“An Alpha leader,” Cristobal calls Ward. “Its very well documented, his productivity.” Watching him on film, his playmaking ability, his arm strength. What impresses us the most -- whenever there’s a bad play, it’s his ability to bounce back and make things right.”

Cristobal has given Ward the freedom to be himself. He has fit in here. A lover of fishing, Ward and a few teammates already have been out looking for Mahi.

“Coach Cristobal lets me lead the way I want to lead,” Ward says. “Let me come in and be the person I wanted to be. He’s let me flourish and I feel like we were meant to be here together. Coming from a seven-win year, the only way is up. But everybody on this team has a lot to prove, from head to toe.”

He says second-year offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson has given him the “keys to the kingdom.”

Ward conveys flash and brash. Was a huge Cam Newton fan. There is trash talk in Ward, befitting a history of that in UM’s best days, from Alonzo Highsmith to Michael Irvin to Warren Sapp to Ray Lewis.

Ward knows his priorities, though. Likes to use the phrase, “We have to keep the main thing the main thing.”

While in the portal and heavily recruited, Ward’s father kept a spreadsheet on the various opportunities. His son, 22, wanted the program most poised to be really good, now, not later. He knows the better he is in 2024, the better Miami is, the higher he’ll go in the NFL Draft.

“That second NFL contact is what we’re all trying to get,” he said, then smiled. “Tua’s set for sure” -- meaning newly enriched Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa.

The official preseason rankings are not out yet but ESPN’s post-spring practice ranking had Miami No. 24 That’s low, but also reflects why, coming off 12-13 the past two seasons, UM must prove itself to fans and pollsters alike.

Some of my reason for XXL-sized optimism is UM’s 2024 schedule, with rankings below in that same post-spring appraisal..

The schedule does not include No. 13 North Carolina State or No. 16 Clemson from the ACC. It does include two ranked opponents -- but both are home games for The U.

The three biggest games to watch:

▪ The August 31 season opener vs. the Florida Gators at the Swamp in Gainesville in the old rivals’ first meeting since 2019. Florida is unranked; UM is an early 2 1/2-point road favorite.

▪ September 27 vs. No. 21 Virginia Tech, a Friday night home game that sees UM an early 7 1/2-point favorite.

▪ And October 26 vs. rival Florida State, also at home. A very early line has Miami a 1 1/2-point favorite.

Every other game figures to also see UM favored.

“Every game for me is circled,” says Ward.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s sports. Things go wrong. There are injuries. Upsets happen.

But, today, the outlook and expectation for this Hurricanes season are big enough and legit enough to melt the skepticism and doubt.

It’s been north of 20 years since the glory days.

It feels like it’s time.

Allow that hope. No, embrace it if you dare.