Miami has been handed the kind of preseason billing that turns every snap into a referendum.
J.D. PicKell of On3 put the Hurricanes at No. 1 in his ranking of the top offenses in college football heading into the 2026 season, slotting Miami ahead of Oregon, Ohio State, Texas and USC. Ole Miss, LSU, Notre Dame, Indiana and Texas Tech filled out the rest of the top 10.
The case for Miami starts with the pieces around Darian Mensah. He arrives as a proven ACC winner at quarterback and steps into a skill group that already looks loaded.
Malachi Toney is the headliner after a huge 2025 season, when he led the nation with 109 catches and paced the ACC with 1,211 receiving yards. Miami also has a 1,000-yard running back and a familiar target from Duke in Sahmir Hagans.
That combination gives the Hurricanes the kind of balance that can make a No. 1 ranking feel earned. Mensah and Barkate already have chemistry, and that matters here because Barkate can serve as the steady option when defenses start rolling extra attention toward Toney. If Toney is seeing double teams, Barkate gives Miami the kind of outlet that can keep the offense humming.
Miami averaged 30.9 points per game last season, which ranked sixth in the ACC, but that production was still enough to carry the Hurricanes all the way to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. With the talent now in place, the expectation is that the offense can take another step.
Behind Miami, Oregon checks in at No. 2 with Dante Moore back after throwing for 3,565 yards and 30 touchdowns in 2025, when the Ducks averaged 36.9 points per game and finished second in the Big Ten in scoring. Ohio State follows at No. 3, with Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith returning after powering an undefeated regular season. Sayin passed for 3,610 yards and 32 touchdowns, while Smith caught 87 passes for 1,243 yards and 12 scores.
Texas lands at No. 4, and Arch Manning is again one of the most talked-about quarterbacks in the country. The Longhorns averaged 30.5 points per game last season, with Manning throwing 26 touchdown passes and running for 10 more. They also added Auburn transfer Cam Coleman, who had 56 catches for 708 yards and five touchdowns.
USC comes in at No. 5 after averaging 35.8 points per game in 2025, good for third in the Big Ten behind Indiana and Oregon. Jayden Maiava returns after throwing for 3,711 yards and 24 touchdowns while adding six rushing scores in 13 games.
Ole Miss is next at No. 6 after a season that ended in the CFP semifinals against Miami. Trinidad Chambliss threw for 3,937 yards and 22 touchdowns, and Kewan Lacy ran for 1,609 yards and 24 scores as the Rebels averaged 36.9 points per game. Chambliss is back for his sixth year of college football, but Ole Miss will do it without Lane Kiffin, who left for LSU.
LSU sits at No. 7 and is looking for a much-needed offensive jump after averaging just 22.8 points per game in 2025. Sam Leavitt, the Arizona State transfer, is one of the key additions after throwing for 4,513 yards and 34 touchdowns with only nine interceptions across 20 games.
Notre Dame comes in at No. 8 despite averaging 42 points per game last season. The concern is the loss of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price to the NFL, even with CJ Carr returning after throwing for 2,741 yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions. Jordan Faison and Jaden Greathouse give Carr reliable targets, but replacing that running back production is a major ask.
Indiana is ranked ninth after Fernando Mendoza guided the Hoosiers to a perfect 16-0 season and the program’s first national championship. Indiana led the Big Ten with 41.6 points per game, and while Mendoza is gone, TCU transfer Josh Hoover brings more than 9,600 career passing yards and 71 touchdowns.
Texas Tech rounds out the list at No. 10.
Brendan Sorsby is not on the roster, but the Red Raiders still averaged 39.4 points per game last season and have enough returning firepower to stay dangerous. Kirk Francis arrives from Tulsa with starting experience after throwing for 3,045 yards and 18 touchdowns in 18 career games, while Will Hammond is back after passing for 680 yards and seven touchdowns in eight games.
The winner of that quarterback battle will hand the ball to Cameron Dickey and J’Koby Williams, who combined for nearly 2,000 yards last season.
In Other News...
Miamis Quarterback Hunt Just Drew An Uncomfortable New Accusation
Pittsburghs quarterback situation briefly became part of Miamis search when Pat Narduzzi said the Hurricanes made a lucrative push for Mason Heintschel before the freshman chose to stay with the Panthers. Heintschel had already put together a notable first season in Pittsburgh, showing enough promise to draw outside attention, but the end result was his decision to recommit and remain in place.
Miami eventually moved on and landed Duke transfer Darian Mensah, giving the Hurricanes a new answer under center after the Heintschel pursuit did not stick. The episode still added an awkward layer to a quarterback hunt that had already been moving quickly, and it left one more reminder of how aggressively Miami has been working the market for help at the position. [Read more 🡒]
ACC Just Sent Malachi Toney A Message Miami Fans Won't Like
Malachi Toneys breakout freshman season already put him on the national radar, and the Miami receiver entered the fall with early Heisman Trophy and All-American buzz after piling up an ACC Rookie of the Year and Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign. He also earned First Team All-ACC honors, a quick reminder of how fast he went from promising newcomer to one of the most recognizable players in the league.
So it stood out when the preseason ACC Player of the Year ballot came out and Toneys name was nowhere to be found, even as other stars from around the conference made the list. For Miami, it is the kind of early-season slight that will only add more attention to every catch he makes, especially with the Hurricanes still carrying the standard set by recent award winners at the position. [Read more 🡒]
Miamis Championship Rise Says Everything About The Portal Era
The Hurricanes climb into the 2025 College Football Playoff was built as much in the transfer portal as it was on the recruiting trail, with Miami leaning on a wave of outside additions to reshape its roster over the last several seasons. From 2020 to 2025, the program brought in 71 players through the portal, and plenty of them did more than just fill depth charts. They became the kind of contributors who changed games, earned postseason recognition and helped push Miami back into the national picture.
What makes the run so notable is how many of those arrivals turned into headline players on both sides of the ball. The defense in particular was fortified by portal additions such as Mesidor, Scott, Thomas and Mauigoa, a group that brought production, accolades and eventually NFL attention. Miamis portal haul also produced a quarterback who rewrote the record book and became the face of the programs rise, leaving the broader lesson of this stretch hard to miss: in this era, the Hurricanes did not just supplement their roster through the portal, they built a contender with it. [Read more 🡒]