Danny Kanell describes Miami's ceiling after win over Notre Dame

Miami opened its 2025 campaign strong with a 27-24 win over Notre Dame inside Hard Rock Stadium last Sunday night. The matchup was one of the most anticipated of college football’s opening weekend and it certainly did not disappoint.

Miami kicker Carter Davis drilled a 38-yard field goal with 9:42 remaining in the fourth quarter to give the Hurricanes a 24-14 lead, but Notre Dame responded with a field goal of its own and a seven-yard rushing touchdown from CJ Carr with 3:21 remaining to knot the game at 24 apiece.

Davis, however, came up clutch for Miami once again, as his 47-yard field goal with 1:04 remaining was enough to push the Hurricanes over the edge for the monstrous opening weekend victory. Thanks to their win over the Fighting Irish, the Hurricanes seem to be off to a great start in making their first-ever College Football Playoff.

CBS Sports HQ‘s Danny Kanell joined ESPN‘s Greg McElroy on the ‘Always College Football‘ podcast on Wednesday. There, he discussed Miami‘s ceiling as a program this season.

“They can definitely win the ACC,” Kanell said. “That makes them a Playoff contender. They beat Notre Dame and that was a really good win. I guess the question is can they do it on the road? I think they can. From a talent perspective, their roster is as talented as any other (roster) out there. So why couldn’t they win the National Championship if it all comes together? I don’t know if I would pick them, but this season in particular, there’s not one team you look at and say ‘that’s the team’. One doesn’t exist.”

Kanell reveals he believes Carson Beck looked like an ‘NFL caliber’ quarterback

“So it could be Miami and I agree with you on Carson Beck. I had my doubts about him coming off surgery and going to a new program,” Kanell continued. “I didn’t love the narrative when he left Georgia. Some of the players didn’t seem like they’d miss him very much and it seems like he heard a lot of that criticism. I thought he looked as poised, confident and comfortable in the pocket than anybody I watched this weekend. If you’re evaluating NFL talent, I thought he looked like an NFL-caliber quarterback.”

“The other concern was how were they gonna replace the production at receiver [referring to the loss of Xavier Restrepo], and they’ve got guys out there making crazy circus catches. Malachi Toney looks like he could be a weapon. The one thing that’ll hold them back (and it almost bit them) was Mario Cristobal‘s late-game management. Got a little bit too conversation late and almost burned them. Settling for a 47-yard field goal and going in on that mindset… hopefully he learns from that and I think they’ll get more aggressive.”

The program (much like Texas) has repeatedly looked at moments like it was ‘back,’ but that sentiment may never be truer than it is now. Miami has jumped to No. 4 in this week’s AP Poll Rankings and could climb even higher with games against South Florida, No. 13 Florida and No. 14 Florida State on the docket in the coming weeks.