Is Miami a National Title Favorite? Early Rankings High On The Hurricanes

It’s a relatively slow time of the year for breaking news in college football, which means anyone and everyone have come out with their way-too-early top 25 picks.

Miami is factoring into all of them, and with good reason as the roster is arguably upgraded from the team that made it to the national title game.

On offense Duke transfer QB Darian Mensah can be pointed to as a better downfield passer than Carson Beck, the team has back its top RB Mark Fletcher and top WR Malachi Toney plus Duke 1,000-yard receiver Cooper Barkate. The big question on this side of the ball is an offense line that loses four starters and is relying on oft-injured center Ryan Rodriguez, true freshman tackle Jackson Cantwell and former 5-star Samson Okunlola in what should be his first starting role. The lone returner up front is Matthew McCoy, who could play guard or tackle.

Miami’s No. 12-ranked defense loses star ends Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor, but this should again be a playmaking group. Miami added Missouri fearsome pass rusher Damon Wilson, and the team returns Marquise Lightfoot, DE/DT Armondo Blount, starting tackles Ahmad Moten and Justin Scott along with Nebraska transfer Keona Davis. The secondary is a strength with the top four cornerbacks returning led by OJ Frederique and Xavier Lucas, and starting safety Zechariah Poyser is joined by nickel/S Bryce Fitzgerald and BC’s Omar Thornton. An area of concern depth-wise is linebacker. Mo Toure had 84 tackles, but the position has question marks as guys like Chase Smith and former NC State transfer Kamal Bonner need to step up.

But you can see the potential, right?

And so do the national pundits. So let’s get right to it.

ESPN’s Heather Dinich has Miami No. 7. The opponents on Miami’s schedule in the rankings are Notre Dame at No. 2, and perhaps surprisingly she puts Nov. 20 opponent Virginia Tech on there at 24th. She has Texas first with defending champion Indiana third. The other ACC teams on her list: SMU at No. 18 and Louisville 19th (Miami plays neither).

Sports Illustrated’s Matt De Lima has the Canes 10th and Notre Dame sixth, with Ohio State first. He has two other ACC teams on his top 25: Louisville 17th and SMU 20th. “The roster remains talented despite NFL departures,” he writes. “Wide receiver Malachi Toney is a superstar in the making. Running back Mark Fletcher Jr. provides a physical presence in the backfield. The defensive line lost stars Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor. Young players like Justin Scott will need to step up to fill the void.”

The Sporting News puts the Canes ninth with Notre Dame sixth and the Buckeyes at No. 1. Virginia Tech would be 26th when looking at “others receiving votes,” with another opponent, Clemson, 27th and FSU 33rd. The two ACC teams ranked that Miami doesn’t play on his list are SMU 17th and Louisville 19th.

Pro Football Focus’ top 25 has Oregon first and the Canes at No. 8 with Notre Dame right ahead at seventh. That poll has three ACC teams ranked that UM doesn’t face: Louisville 18th, Cal 21st and SMU 22nd.

There’s even a really way-too-early College Football Playoff projected bracket by Brad Crawford. And guess what? Miami is the No. 1 overall seed with Notre Dame the No. 2 seed. So that pretty much negates everything else in that poll, right? Because to be the No. 1 seed you probably need to win at Notre Dame. And if the Irish lose to the Canes at home could they really be the No. 2 seed? It would take a lot to go right for both those projections to happen. But anyway, for what it’s worth, that projection has the Canes with a bye and then facing either No. 8 Ohio State or No. 9 LSU. Probably the most realistic thing about that projection is that Miami is the only ACC team in the playoffs. We can envision that happening once again.

Oh, and to go a bit further ESPN’s Mark Schlabach also projects out an All-American team for 2026. Malachi Toney makes it under “All-Purpose”. Under those “also considered” not making the cut: RB Mark Fletcher and DE Damon Wilson.