Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; September 3, 2022; Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports Josh Pate, national college football analyst for CBS Sports and 247 Sports, named the Miami football program as one of his 2023 surprise teams earlier this week. Pate examined Miami before the ACC released its 2023 schedule on Monday night.

Pate went into great detail about the state of the Miami football program.

Pate conducted a systemic analysis of Miami. The 2022 Miami football season, 2023 signees, roster talent, quarterback issues last season, staff changes, the running game, and the 2023 schedule. There are many unanswered questions as the second season of the Mario Cristobal era begins.
The biggest unknowns will be who Cristobal hires to replace Josh Gattis as offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach, as well as who will be the next Miami quarterbacks coach. Cristobal must get this right after Miami underperformed offensively in the only year with Gattis as offensive coordinator.
It has been widely reported that Gattis was let go due to a lack of communication with other coaches, players, and staff members, as well as poor performance on the field. Pate is confident that five-star offensive tackles Francis Mauigoa and Samson Okunlola will contribute to Miami’s offensive line improvement.
“Miami goes five and seven last year I think most of you remember they got drugged by Middle Tennessee, Duke, they got blown out by FSU we don’t need to relitigate all that they were a bad team on the field. They have several true freshmen who have either already enrolled or are part of this signing class that is ranked in the top ten and who I believe will be immediate contributors… Not only that, but if you look at the offensive tackles they’re bringing in, there are high school offensive tackles like kids who were playing High School football this fall who were committed to Miami or were about to commit to Miami who, as seniors in high school, I believe would have been upgrades over some of the pieces Miami and Mario Cristobal had to go to war with this past fall.

That’s what you inherit, so they started three quarterbacks last year…

I just thought it was offensive how out of sync they were. I believe everyone saw that, particularly everyone in the Miami fan base, which is why many people are still wondering if the upheaval has ended completely down there.
That’s an overly complicated way of saying, “Are there going to be more staff changes?” I believe there will be, so we’re talking about Josh Gattis, the offensive coordinator. Let’s not beat around the bush, this is what we’re discussing.

This year, they didn’t run the ball very well…

This year, their leading rusher in every Power five game has been 85 yards, 57 yards, 19 yards, 27 yards, 63, 114…64, 118, 22, 72. That’s not good enough; it’s not even close.
They’re bringing in a four-star running back and two big-time offensive tackles this class, which we’ll discuss later. When we look at the 2023 schedule, Miami starts with Miami of Ohio, then (Texas) A&M comes to Coral Gables, and Bethune Cookman visits Temple in week three… Then they begin conference play at Florida; in fact, the entire conference schedule has yet to be determined, so we’ll see when they play Florida State, but Miami is team one.”
The elimination of the ACC’s Atlantic and Coastal divisions in 2023 will pose a challenge to Miami. In 2023, Clemson and Florida State will be favored to finish first and second in the ACC, respectively. As members of the Atlantic Division, only one of those two would be eligible for ACC Championship game berths under the divisional format.
The top two teams in the ACC qualify for the conference championship game under the new rules. Miami’s football team has a long way to go to recover from an extremely disappointing season that was arguably far worse than its 5-7 record. Miami needs to improve both defensively and offensively.
Miami has added eight transfers to its roster for 2023. The majority, if not all, of the transfers are good players, but none of them are standouts. Pate, the running back, referred to Mark Fletcher. Fletcher has the potential to make an impression. It’s a tall order to expect a true freshman to make an immediate impact.
Spring practice and training camp in August will be critical for Miami football players and coaches to learn the new offensive system, build chemistry with the new coaches, and acclimate newcomers. Miami will not be able to ease into their 2023 schedule too much in week two, when they host Texas A&M at Hard Rock Stadium.