The Miami Hurricanes are on a rampage with a five-week winning streak (4-0, 1-0 in ACC), with a dominant 28-1 victory over rival Florida State. Ranked at No. 2 this week in the AP Top 25, matching their highest ranking since the 2002 season. The U looks promising after almost two decades, and most predict Miami into the playoffs and to win the conference title. However, college football analyst Josh Pate has issued a warning to head coach Mario Cristobal, echoing a philosophy made famous by Cristobal’s mentor, Nick Saban, the “Rat Poison” of praise and complacency.

On the October 6 episode of Josh Pate’s College Football Show,  Pate stated that Miami’s superior talent level means they have not yet faced a team of their equal. “Miami hadn’t won anything yet, so there is no guarantee for them. This is all new for them, at least this version of Miami.” “There are a lot of teams out there that play on a really difficult schedule, and they’re going to face teams that are their equal talent-wise,” Josh explained.

“If Miami loses, it will be a fairly big upset, and they will have lost to an inferior roster.” Taking a look at Miami’s schedule, Josh claimed that they haven’t played against a team of their equal so far. Miami’s roster advantage means they can afford to play with a “C+ effort” and still win most of their remaining games. However, playing with anything less than an A+ standard every week fosters the poor habits that lead to failure when the stakes are highest.

Pate pointed to the upcoming Miami vs. Stanford game as the key test of the program’s maturity, which will reveal what habits are creeping in. He warned Mario Cristobal, saying, “That’s what can bite Miami. And you won’t really know it until it comes time for them to play in a championship situation in Charlotte or in the playoffs.”

This is where the Florida Gators’ struggle becomes a cautionary tale. Even after winning against Texas, the Gators had their trajectory completely derailed by consecutive upsets. Pate believes this happened because Florida settled for a “C+ effort,” believing their superior talent would be enough to win. This initial lack of focus caused a ripple effect, taking the Gators out of the AP ranking.

Josh Pate’s Advice to Mario Cristobal’s Miami

Josh Pate does not doubt that Miami will be in the playoffs. But, he doesn’t want them to get smoked in the first round like last year’s Oregon side. He mentioned how the regular season doesn’t matter after entering the playoffs, however, what matters is what kind of habits the Miami side creeps in. “That’s literally my biggest concern with Miami right now. That and just health, which I worry about for everyone,” Pate said.

Mario’s Miami will have its bye week in Week 7, to figure it out, before stepping into its next challenge against the Louisville Cardinals on October 18th, at Hard Rock Stadium. This is an important ACC conference game for the Hurricanes to hold on to the rankings. The Cardinals are still in conference title contention with a 4-1 and 1-1 ACC record.

The next game on Oct 25th will be against Stanford, which Pate mentioned. Despite being an easy opponent for Miami, it is important to know what path Mario’s Miami is going to adopt moving forward into the playoffs. What are your thoughts on the Miami Hurricanes’ season so far? Share with us in the comment section below.