Canes move up to #9 in AP Poll while King earns national honors

After Miami’s 44-41 win over NC State on Friday, the newest AP Poll saw the Canes jump 2 spots to #9 as Manny Diaz earned his first post-bye week since he first arrived in Coral Gables as defensive coordinator in 2016. The Canes benefitted from #8 Georgia losing to #5 Florida as well as Wisconsin dropping three spots from 10 to 13, even after their win over Illinois. This is Miami’s second appearance in the top 10 this season, making it as high as #7 before a loss to then-#1 Clemson.

The Canes will travel to Blacksburg this coming Saturday to take on Virginia Tech at noon on ESPN2. 

In addition, after a very Heisman-esque performance from D’Eriq King, Miami’s QB earned the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week. Against the Wolfpack, King completed 31 of his 41 passes for 430 yards and 5 touchdowns while adding 105 yards on the ground.

According to Fifth Quarter Stats on Twitter, King is only the 3rd player since 2000 to throw for 400+ yards, 5 touchdowns, and run for 100+ yards. In addition, it is the third time that King has thrown for 300+ yards, 5 touchdowns, and ran for 100+ yards in his career.

It may have been King’s best performance since joining the team as a grad transfer earlier this year and it was very reminiscent of what he did during his historic 2018 season with Houston, when he finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting. 

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