Miami takes No. 1 in Pro Football Network's Week 8 power rankings after BYU falls at UCF

Miami sits at No. 1 in Pro Football Network's Week 8 college football power rankings. The Hurricanes moved up after BYU, second in the AP poll, lost in double overtime at UCF and fell out of PFN's top 10. Miami is 7-0. It has scored at least 33 points in every game this season, and the voters who already had it at the top of the AP poll now have company.

PFN's Cam Mellor gave two main reasons for the move. After weeks of shuffling, Miami has settled on an offensive line, and quarterback Darian Mensah has played with more control behind that group. The other reason is Malachi Toney. Mellor said that during the show Toney passed Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith in PFN's grades to become the highest-graded receiver in the country. Co-host Oli Hodgkinson still called Smith the best player in the sport but said Toney does more with the ball in his hands. Mellor described Miami as "the most complete team outside of maybe Georgia."

The ranking comes after the Hurricanes beat Pittsburgh 52-23 at Hard Rock Stadium in their first game as the nation's top-ranked team in nearly 24 years. ESPN reported that Toney set a school record with 16 catches and that Mensah threw for 387 yards and four touchdowns. The win came a week after Miami beat Florida State 43-35 in double overtime, which made it the Hurricanes' second straight game with at least 43 points against an ACC opponent.

The PFN hosts don't see much competition for Miami in the conference so far. Hodgkinson named 6-1 SMU and Wake Forest as the next tier. Miami won 33-20 at Wake Forest in late September. Mellor said SMU's game against Wake Forest in two weeks should show whether the Mustangs can challenge for the title. Hodgkinson pointed to the Notre Dame game as the real test of how good Miami is. The Irish are seventh in PFN's rankings and coming off a bye.

What it means for Saturday at North Carolina

Miami's next game is on the road against North Carolina on Saturday, Oct. 31, at Kenan Stadium (ABC). The Hurricanes have won all three of their games in opposing stadiums so far: 45-6 at Stanford, 33-20 at Wake Forest and 41-13 at Clemson. The Clemson win is the best of the three. Across seven games, Miami has outscored opponents 343-107.

The board for the game shows Miami as a heavy favorite, though the 12 venues disagree on how heavy. Novig has the Hurricanes at -614 on the moneyline, and Kalshi has the best Miami price at -276. That is an unusually wide gap for a team this strongly favored. North Carolina is +525 on Novig and +580 at FanDuel, the best price for the Tar Heels.

The spread is closer across venues. Novig has Miami favored by 14.5 at -106, and FanDuel gives North Carolina 15.5 points at -110. Novig's total is 51.5, with the over at -117. Fanatics has the highest number at 53, with the under at -110. Sportsbook hold ranges from 3.6% to 7.0% across the three markets.

If the oddsmakers are right, the Hurricanes should handle a Halloween night road game. In PFN's view, though, Miami's real test is still ahead.