CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- The rankings say they are worthy of national championship consideration, and the record suggests they are on track for their goal. All of it is deceiving. The Miami Hurricanes might be unbeaten, but they are also untested.

That figures to change this week when the No. 1-ranked Hurricanes (4-0) travel to Tallahassee to take on rival Florida State (3-1). Or will it?

The 13th-ranked Seminoles do not appear to be at their usual lofty level. A stunning 41-9 loss at North Carolina three weeks was further proof that FSU's streak of consecutive 10-win seasons is in serious jeopardy.

	Larry Coker says FSU will provide Miami the "test of our life."

And that leaves the Hurricanes, once again, at the mercy of a convoluted system that determines bowl matchups and national championship contenders.

To date, they have been the victims of a rather lackluster opening month of the season, having defeated four teams that are a combined 3-14 (and only one of those victories is over a Division I-A opponent).

Of course, it is hardly UM's fault that the opening-night opponent, Penn State, is far from its storied self. Pittsburgh on the road was supposed to be a test, but the Panthers are reeling. And the Washington game won't be played until later, postponed due to the terrorist attacks.

So when they put forth an uneven performance against first-year Division I-A member Troy State last Saturday, doubts enveloped the program like the suffocating South Florida heat.

Associated Press voters dropped the Hurricanes to No. 2, although they stayed No. 1 in the ESPN/USA today coaches poll. And suddenly it's easy to wonder: just how good are the Hurricanes?

"We've played who we played, and we didn't have any choice there," said UM coach Larry Coker. "When you prepare for Penn State and are going to play in Pittsburgh, you're preparing for the best. That's been good. We've prepared for being on the road. Starters not being in during the fourth quarter might be a plus, maybe they're rested and more healthy.

"We'll have to be ready to play four quarters this week. We'll get the test of our life."

Don't buy for a moment that the Troy State game was any indication of how the Hurricanes will play against the Seminoles. Human nature being what it is, an uninspired performance was inevitable. A half-filled Orange Bowl wasn't into it, and neither were the players. Getting out with a victory was all that mattered.

And yet. . .

UM center Brett Romberg watched film of last year's 27-24 victory over Florida State and was amazed at what a difference he saw.

"We looked like animals," he said of Miami's first win against FSU since 1994. "We hit everybody as hard as we could. This year, we look like fat cats. We look like we're satisfied to be No. 1. That needs to change."

Coker is clearly not concerned about polls and computers and the BCS system that determines who will compete for the national championship in the Rose Bowl. At least not now.

But it is bound to come into play again. Miami's strength of schedule is simply not strong enough to compete with the likes of Florida or Oklahoma or Nebraska or even a team that could emerge from the Pac-10. If, say, Florida, Oklahoma and UCLA remain undefeated, who among them would not be in front of the Hurricanes? Which is not to say the Hurricanes might not be the best team of them all. They returned 14 starters from an 11-1 team that felt it should have been playing Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl for the national championship. They have a quarterback, Ken Dorsey, who has not been sacked. The offense often appears flawless. They have enough speed, depth and experience to contend with anyone.

That's why nobody has given them a game so far.

"Our team is so dangerous on both sides of the ball," said tight end Jeremy Shockey. "I don't think this whole year we've put it together. It's going to be scary when we do. . . It's not our fault that our schedule is like it is, that Penn State isn't as good as they could have been. I can't wait to play big games, because that's the games we really take pride in."

This one ranks as one. A 10-year, 54-game home unbeaten streak at Doak Campbell Stadium will be on the line, and the Hurricanes would love nothing more than to be the first team to win at FSU since their UM counterparts of won 17-16 in 1991.

Believe it or not, it's been 10 years since the Hurricanes last won a national championship, sharing the title with Washington.

Getting that shot again will require more than victories. Even the new wrinkle in the Bowl Championship Series standings might not help them. Last year, had the extra credit for victories over top 15 teams been in place, the Hurricanes would have played Oklahoma for the national title rather than the Seminoles.

But that added benefit requires that teams be ranked in the top 15 after the final BCS standings. The Seminoles won't be there if they lose to Miami and Florida. Washington, which plays at UCLA on Saturday, won't be there if it loses to the Bruins and later the Hurricanes. Only Virginia Tech figures to be there later.

"If we're lucky enough to win, I'm sure it won't be good enough for everybody," Dorsey said. "We're going to have to live with this all season long if we keep winning. It's nothing new to us. . I think we have a certain amount of respect, but nowhere near the amount other teams have. We have to go out each week and earn it."

"There are so many expectations for this football team that we are caught up in having to be perfect," said offensive tackle Joaquin Gonzalez. "We just have to go out and win. I'm glad we have a lot of leadership on this team, because no matter where we are in the polls, whether we're first or second or third or fourth, we know that if we won on Saturday's we'll sit back and see where we are at the end." Bob Harig covers college football for the St. Petersburg Times. He can be reached at harig@sptimes.com.