If you’re a Clemson fan, it’s time to look away because while the Tigers get all the headlines, Greg McElroy is hitching his wagon to a team most folks still think of as a punchline. Miami. Yes, the Miami Hurricanes. The Canes might not be everyone’s trendy pick for 2025 (they are no one’s, to be honest), but McElroy sees something brewing in Coral Gables. And unlike past false alarms, he believes this time it’s real.

“I’m not kidding,” McElroy said on ESPN College Football. “I include Miami in tier one. A lot of people might push back on that. Well, Miami can make the playoffs, but can they win the national championship? I am a believer.” That’s the same tier as Clemson in the ACC. It’s a firm belief that the Hurricanes can go all the way. And his reasoning isn’t based on vague optimism either. He’s looking straight at the QB. 

“A lot of people are wondering about Carson Beck, but I remember calling Carson Beck’s first game last year against Clemson. And he was at that time the Heisman front-runner. Yes, he’s coming off an injury. He hurt that elbow in the SEC championship game, but all signs point to him being at 100% when they kick things off here in fall camp here very, very soon.” Beck has really not been given his due flowers. People trash him for his 2024 season with Georgia, where the wide receivers had average and inconsistent performance, and he had to rely on his run game more. But the guy has shown numerous times what he’s made of. 

There’s more where that came from. McElroy isn’t just banking on a single player. According to him, Miami had achieved a rare feat when every extension of a team was dangerous, meaning fewer weaknesses. He said, “But the strength of Miami’s team will always be along the offensive and defensive lines. Mario Cristobal has talked about this over and over and over again. He believes that the strength of the team will always be found in the trenches.” 

On defense, he said, “And then on the defensive side, man, they are really, really solid with a couple of the big-time playmakers like Rueben Bane, who can take over the game at any given point.” Bane just played nine games last year but still posted an impressive performance of 23 combined tackles. Pair that with a forgiving schedule (Florida and Notre Dame at home, Virginia Tech and Pitt on the road), and the road to the playoff doesn’t look so far-fetched anymore.

McElroy’s biggest caution? It’s about not blowing games against teams they should handle. “Don’t lose to teams you should beat,” he warned. That was Miami’s problem last year. If they clean that up, he added, “You gotta feel really confident about what Miami might be able to do here in ’25.”

This isn’t the first time someone bought into Miami too early. But this time, it’s McElroy, and he doesn’t toss around championship talk lightly. So now the question isn’t ‘Is Miami back?’ It’s ‘Are you bold enough to believe it with him?’

J.D. Pickell pumps the brakes on Beck hype

Just days before ESPN’s Greg McElroy boldly placed Miami in his ACC Tier 1 rankings, On3’s J.D. Pickell offered a far more cautious take on whether the Hurricanes are truly ready for liftoff. While McElroy saw a team poised to contend, Pickell zoomed in on Carson Beck. On his July 18 podcast episode, Pickell raised serious doubts about whether Mario Cristobal’s offense is the right fit for Georgia’s former gunslinger, especially after a bumpy spring.

“Miami’s offense is a vertical passing attack. You saw that last year with Cam Ward,” Pickell explained. “As talented as Carson Beck is, we saw what he looks like without… any dudes that can real deal go win one-on-ones for you and finish plays downfield.” It’s a pointed observation, especially considering Beck’s 2023 efficiency nosedived from 72% to 65% when Georgia’s receivers led the country in drops. Add a throwing-arm injury that kept him out of spring practices, and Pickell’s caution seems more grounded than pessimistic.

That said, Cristobal hasn’t been passive. Miami’s WR room had its ups and downs last year, but they were good for the most part. Xavier Restrepo even went on to post a 1000-yard season. While Pickell questions whether this group can match Georgia’s former stars, the talent injection is clear. Beck might not walk into a perfect setup, but if McElroy’s Tier 1 optimism is to hold up, the chemistry between Beck and these new weapons has to click and fast.