Miami OC Shannon Dawson takes shot at SEC, preseason rankings: 'Half of them won't be in the top 30'

The Hurricanes' offensive coordinator took issue with the SEC, which has 10 teams ranked in this week's AP Top 25

Sep 29, 2026 at 12:29 pm ET • 2 min read

Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson doesn't bother looking at college football rankings or where the Hurricanes' opponents stand in the polls. His sole focus is scoring as many points as he can with Darian Mensah, Malachi Toney and one of the nation's most explosive offenses while building No. 4 Miami's resume before the College Football Playoff Selection Committee makes its final picks.

Dawson took aim at the SEC, which boasts 10 teams in the latest AP Top 25, and at various poll structures this week as major issues in college football.

"There should be no such thing as preseason rankings," Dawson said Monday. "That's the most ridiculous thing on the planet. That's the stupidest thing. People weight those things way heavier than they should. You shouldn't have a ranking until October. How do you know? 

"(Texas) A&M was ranked in the top 5 ... how does that look right now? If anything is predictable of the future, it's the past. We sit here and look at schedules and everything's SEC, SEC ... well yeah, they have all their teams in the top 25, good for you, at the end of the year half of them won't be in the top 30."

Dawson's been around for the entirety of Mario Cristobal's tenure at Miami, and during that stretch, the Hurricanes are 5-0 against SEC competition.

In last season's College Football Playoff, Miami beat Texas A&M and Ole Miss prior to reaching the National Championship.

Mensah, Dawson's new signal caller, leads the FBS in completion rate (88.7%), touchdown passes (14) and quarterback rating (228.0) this season.

"We'll count those chips up at the end of the year," Dawson said. "That's why there shouldn't be rankings because you give people talking points that are idiots who don't know what they're doing. It's like playing poker -- count the chips up at the end. You don't know at the beginning. The fact we have preseason rankings is unbelievable to me and the fact people pay attention to them is more unreal."

Miami vs. SEC teams under Mario Cristobal

Opponent	Season	Result
vs. No. 23 Texas A&M	2023	W, 48-33
at Florida	2024	W, 41-17
vs. Florida	2025	W, 26-7
at No. 7 Texas A&M	2025 (CFP)	W, 10-3
vs. No. 6 Ole Miss	2025 (CFP)	W, 31-27

Many have harped on Miami's strength of schedule this season relative to other national title contenders and have pointed out the lack of nationally ranked opponents the Hurricanes have to play.

The ACC-opening win at Wake Forest in Week 3 was enhanced over the weekend following the Demon Deacons' win at Louisville, but it wasn't enough to push Jake Dickert's team into the latest AP rankings.

Miami's a 17-point favorite at Clemson on Saturday and only plays one team the rest of the way that is currently ranked inside the poll -- Notre Dame at No. 3.

The CFP Selection Committee's adoption of a "strength of conference" metric this season adds a new data point that will likely further enhance the SEC's stranglehold on public perception, unless ACC unbeatens like Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech and Duke can make waves moving forward.

Miami plays each of those teams during the second half of the slate.

The only way Dawson and the Hurricanes are going to continue flexing in the national conversation is to take care of business in the ACC and handle the Fighting Irish during their trip to South Bend in November.