The Miami Hurricanes are being projected for something the program hasn’t pulled off in a long time: a perfect season.
With Mario Cristobal’s roster retooled through the transfer portal and the schedule looking manageable, Miami is getting attention as a team that can run the table, win the ACC, and punch its ticket to the College Football Playoffs without a loss. The Hurricanes have not won the conference since joining the ACC in 2004, and their last real shot at the title came in 2017, when they reached the championship game only to get rolled by Clemson, 38-3.
This group looks built differently. Miami added 13 transfers in the recent portal window, and two of the biggest names came from Duke: quarterback Darian Mensah and wide receiver Cooper Barkate. Mensah arrives with conference-winning experience after helping Duke capture its first football conference championship since 1989, while Barkate was the Blue Devils’ most-targeted receiver.
That kind of résumé matters, and CBS Sports thinks the Hurricanes have the pieces to make it all work. Brad Crawford wrote, “The Hurricanes return an incredibly talented roster,” adding, “With difference-makers at premium positions and plug-and-play portal additions in various spots. Miami will not face the week-to-week gauntlet other SEC and Big 10 programs have to survive.”
The schedule also helps the case. Outside of Notre Dame, Miami doesn’t appear to face a true national-title-level opponent on paper, and this will be the first season since 2020 that the Hurricanes won’t play an SEC team in the regular season.
Even after losing several important players to the NFL Draft, including All-Americans edge rusher Rueben Jr. and right tackle Francis Mauigoa, Cristobal and Football Executive Dennis Smith worked to patch every hole. The roster now has a mix of retained talent, portal help, and incoming high school players expected to contribute right away.
One concern remains: Miami lost four starters from the offensive line. Still, Cristobal is regarded as the right coach to sort through that group and put the best five on the field.
For Miami, the path is clear. First comes the ACC title. After that, a return to the National Championship game would be next, with hopes that this time the ending looks different.
In Other News...
CBS Just Sent Miami Fans A Brutal Message About Its Receivers
CBS Sports Chris Hummer stirred up a fair bit of debate with his latest preseason position rankings, and Miamis receivers were right in the middle of it. Hummer put Indianas wideout group at No. 1, even though the Hurricanes bring back a receiver room with proven production, added depth and a quarterback in Darian Mensah who led the Power 4 in passing yards last season.
Miamis case is built on more than reputation, too. The Hurricanes have Malachi Toney, Cooper Barkate, Vandrevius Jacobs, Cam Vaughn and Joshua Moore in the mix, with Barkate, Jacobs and Vaughn all bringing recent production and Joshua Moore working as the starting X receiver during spring camp. The question now is less about whether Miami has enough talent and more about how all of that firepower gets sorted out once the games start. [Read more 🡒]
Mario Cristobal May Have A Secret Path To Elite Miami Flip
Mario Cristobal and his staff are already working deep into the 2027 and 2028 cycles, and one of the names that keeps surfacing is edge rusher DJ Jacobs. Miami has made a habit of staying aggressive on the trail, and this pursuit fits the larger pattern: the Hurricanes are not just chasing talent, they are trying to stay in the room early enough to matter when the biggest decisions are made.
What makes the Jacobs situation worth watching is the family connection around it, since Dawson Jacobs is also a highly rated prospect and could shape how the recruitment unfolds over time. Recruiting insiders believe Miami will keep pressing here through the season, and the next round of visits and travel could tell a lot about how realistic a late flip really is. [Read more 🡒]