When ESPN’s College GameDay set up in Tuscaloosa for the Alabama-Georgia game, the day’s biggest college football debate ended up pointing away from both teams on the field. During a “Grab Bag” segment, Rece Davis asked Kirk Herbstreit and Nick Saban to name the best team in the country right now, and both landed on the same answer: Miami.
Herbstreit didn’t need much time to get there. “I think the best team in the country resides in Miami, Florida,” he said.
Saban followed right behind him. “I agree with you on that,” the former Alabama coach said.
That opinion may have caught some Alabama fans off guard, but Miami has given plenty of reason to draw that kind of praise. The Hurricanes are 5-0 and currently ranked No. 4, though they are on a bye this week. They also came into this season after a 2024 run that ended painfully close to the program’s first national title since 2001.
Miami won seven games against top-25 opponents last year and beat Texas A&M, Ohio State and Ole Miss on the way to its showdown with Indiana. The Hurricanes fell short there, with Indiana finishing the job and denying them history, but Miami still put together one of the sport’s most impressive stretches.
This year’s team has looked even sharper. The switch from Carson Beck to Darian Mensah has only added to the momentum, and Mensah has been remarkably efficient through five games. He has completed 84.2 percent of his throws for 1,438 yards and 15 touchdowns without an interception.
The offense has been rolling at 49.6 points per game, but the defense may be the part that really makes Miami stand out. The Hurricanes are giving up just 9.8 points per game, which is the best mark among the 138 FBS teams.
The path ahead also looks manageable. The biggest test remaining appears to be the November 7 road trip to No.
7 Notre Dame. Outside of that, Pitt is the only other ranked team still on the schedule right now.
So with the season hitting its midpoint, there’s a strong case for Miami as the team to beat. The only question left is whether this start can hold up long enough to end with a title.
In Other News...
Camdin Portis Is Facing The Miami Pressure His Last Name Brings
Camdin Portis arrived at Miami with a familiar last name and the kind of attention that comes with it, but the freshman cornerback has gone about his business like a player trying to earn every snap. The son of former Hurricanes running back Clinton Portis picked Miami over other Power Four opportunities, and so far he has mostly found his footing on special teams while learning a defensive back room that includes several veterans.
For a young defensive back, there is both comfort and pressure in that kind of environment. Portis has embraced the legacy attached to his name rather than running from it, and he is working through the first stage of his college career with the expectation that more responsibility could come as the season moves along. Whether that next step arrives soon or later, Miami clearly has a player willing to live with the weight of the jersey and the history that comes with it. [Read more 🡒]
Chase Smiths Long Fight Became A Miami Story Fans Can Feel
Chase Smiths path to Miamis title run has been defined less by flash than by persistence, and his impact in the win over Clemson fit that same mold. The sixth-year linebacker delivered six tackles and a key stop while continuing to carve out a meaningful role in a defense that has leaned on him all season, a run that has carried the Hurricanes into the National Championship game. It is the kind of contribution that does not always dominate a highlight reel, but it has mattered plenty to a team trying to finish the job.
Smiths story also resonates because it has been so hard-earned. Years of injuries and rehabilitation left him dealing with the isolation that can come with being away from the game, and he has been open about how that experience shaped him. Now, as Miami pushes deeper into the postseason, he has also been a source of support for teammates navigating their own injuries, giving his journey a human edge that fits the tone of this Hurricanes run. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Can Show Just How Far FSU Has Fallen
Florida States trip to Louisville turned into another rough snapshot of where the Seminoles are right now, with Mike Norvell clearly worn down after a 44-20 loss that featured 397 rushing yards allowed. It was a sharp contrast from the previous week, when FSU held Virginia to just 38 rushing yards, and it underscored how quickly things can swing for a program trying to find any kind of defensive consistency.
Now comes the part Miami fans will be watching closely, because the Hurricanes are next and the matchup says plenty about the two programs current tracks. Under Mario Cristobal, Miami has been trying to climb back toward relevance, while FSUs latest stumble has only deepened the conversation about how far the Seminoles have fallen and how much ground still has to be made up. [Read more 🡒]