Greg McElroy Previews What Happens If Miami Wins the ACC

Since 2011, the Clemson Tigers and Florida State Seminoles have claimed the most ACC Championships. The Miami Hurricanes have never won an ACC title and are desperate to end that streak of misfortune.

Florida State won the title last season over the Louisville Cardinals. The Hurricanes last competed for an ACC title in 2017, when they reached the championship game. However, they lost to Clemson.

On a recent edition of "Always College Football," Greg McElroy discussed a hypothetical scenario in which Miami wins the ACC in 2024. The Hurricanes have historically eluded the ACC Championship.

"It would be the first time in a long time that someone not named Florida State or Clemson has basically won the league," McElroy said. "...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, just not quite enough to get over the hump."

Step one of McElroy's hypothetical situation started with Cam Ward. He stated that Ward would be as good as anticipated. Ward transferred to Miami from the Washington State Cougars this offseason. The former Cougar quarterback had 6,968 passing yards and 48 touchdowns while in Pullman.

Ward accounted for most of Washington State's total offense last season. McElroy thought that being with Miami would do Ward some good. In McElroy's eyes, the Miami quarterback will not have to do as much.

"If Miami wins the ACC, a few things happen," McElroy said. "One, Cam Ward, was, as advertised, transferring over from Washington State. Last year, he accounted for about 75% of the team's total offense. ...At Miami, he won't have to do as much."

Luckily for Ward, Miami has more weapons than Washington State did. The Hurricanes return weapons at receiver like Xavier Restrepo and Jacolby George. Miami also added a transfer commit from former Oregon State Beavers running back Damien Martinez. Martinez accounted for 2,167 rushing yards from 2022-23 at Oregon State.

Former four-star wideouts Joshisa Trader , Ny Carr , and Chance Robinson joined Miami from the 2024 class.

"...Cam Ward can't play quarterback by himself," McElroy said. "That means the weapons probably accelerated how this offense is gonna go. We already know that Xavier Restrepo and Jacolby George are back at wide receiver. ...They're not gonna have to do it with a running back by committee, either. ...We know who the running back is gonna be now, it's Damien Martinez."

While Miami has a lot to like, its secondary is an enigma. The Hurricanes allowed 216 passing yards per game last season, which ranked sixth in the ACC.

However, this offseason, Miami made some additions to the secondary. Former Washington Huskies safety Mishael Powell, former Marshall Thundering Herd corner D'Yoni Hill, and former Vanderbilt Commodores safety Savion Riley joined the team from the portal.

Former four-star safety Zaquan Patterson , former four-star corner Ryan Mack , former three-star safety Isaiah Thomas , and former three-star corner Romanas Frederique joined the secondary from the 2024 class.

McElroy thinks Miami could erase doubts regarding the secondary by winning an ACC title.

"...The big question mark is the secondary," McElroy said. "If they win the ACC, the secondary, that question mark is probably gone. ...I think all of those things need to happen for Miami to win the ACC, but it's not out of the realm of possibility."

Miami opens the year with the Florida Gators on Aug. 31.

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