Hurricanes not surprised by success

CORAL GABLES – In the days since Miami’s 41-8 win over Notre Dame, Hurricanes players and coaches have watched as some college football experts and pundits have begun praising their program.

It’s a change from last week, where more than one Hurricane said they felt a little bit disrespected by some in the national media. But there remains somewhat of a chip on the shoulders of some Miami players.

Why? Because while the Hurricanes’ successful run — which now includes 14 consecutive victories and a dominant performance against the Irish — may be a surprise to those outside the program, Miami’s players say nothing that’s happened in recent weeks should surprise anyone.

“We always knew what we could do,” said Hurricanes safety Jaquan Johnson, who was voted the ACC Defensive Back of the Week after both the Hurricanes’ 28-10 win over Virginia Tech and Saturday’s victory over Notre Dame. “We always knew we had the ability to win and win at a high level. That’s what we’ve been doing.”

Added defensive end Joe Jackson: “It’s not unexpected for us, we’ve been talking about this for a while. We’re just putting the work in every day and the results are what you see now.”

Now, the goal is to continue building on that with their regular-season home finale against Virginia this Saturday.

“We can’t take anyone lightly,” linebacker Michael Pinckney said. “We got great things ahead.”

Next game: No. 3 Miami vs. Virginia, Saturday, noon, ABC