Miami is drawing real buzz heading into the 2026 season, and ESPN analyst Greg McElroy has the Hurricanes sitting at No. 5 in his preseason top 10.
McElroy unveiled his rankings on the latest episode of his Always College Football podcast, and Miami landed just behind Georgia and ahead of Oregon, Indiana, Notre Dame and Ohio State in his list.
A big part of the appeal is the quarterback situation. For the third straight year, the Hurricanes are going to a transfer passer, this time with Duke’s Darian Mensah following Cam Ward in 2024 and Carson Beck in 2025. McElroy pointed to Miami’s recent track record with that setup as a reason for optimism, and he believes offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson gives Mensah the right framework to settle in quickly.
"Mensah is not just some guy where you hope it works out," McElroy said. "He led the entire Power Four in passing yards last year with nearly 4,000 passing yards.
This is a really productive passer. He is not stepping into a program that has better skill talent around him and better offensive linemen around him and an offense that has seen two quarterbacks drafted the last two years-and one of those guys was the No. 1 overall pick.
"I really like how this marriage could work out. Dawson is going to morph the offense around the quarterback.
He is going to mold it to what Mensah does best. They go out and get Cooper Barkate, who was Mensah's teammate at Duke."
The numbers back up why Miami’s quarterback pipeline has McElroy’s attention. In 2024, Ward threw for 4,313 yards, 39 touchdowns and seven interceptions while adding 204 rushing yards and four scores. Beck followed in 2025 with 3,813 passing yards, 30 touchdowns and a 72.4 percent completion rate.
Mensah arrives after a 2025 season at Duke in which he passed for 3,973 yards, 34 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 66.8 percent of his throws.
McElroy also highlighted Malachi Toney as one of the most dangerous players in the country. Toney finished 2025 with 1,211 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns, added 113 rushing yards and a score, and even completed 4 of 7 passes for 82 yards and two touchdowns.
"He might be pound-for-pound the best player in college football. It is going to be amazing to see the progress that he has made because he can run it, he can throw it, and he can work it underneath and catch it out of the slot.
I want to see him continue to expound on his own versatility. Him paired with a guy who is as talented as Mensah is going to be unique to watch this season."
The schedule also works in Miami’s favor. McElroy noted that Notre Dame is the only opponent on the Hurricanes’ slate that is ranked inside the preseason top 20, and he called Miami’s route one of the easiest among teams in the top eight.
"They have the most gettable path of any team inside the top eight. The projections have them at 10-2 and that almost feels a little bit light.
There is still one area McElroy wants to keep an eye on: the offensive line. Miami has to replace some quality up front, which is why he kept the Hurricanes at No. 5 rather than pushing them even higher.
"Why is Miami fifth and not third? It is because of the offensive line and they have to replace some quality.
A new quarterback and a new offensive line is the oldest problem in football, but if there is one coach in America that I trust to build an elite offensive line, it is Mario Cristobal. He has earned that benefit of the doubt."
McElroy’s full top 10 had Oklahoma at No. 10, Texas A&M at No.
9, Alabama at No. 8, Texas at No.
7, Georgia at No. 6, Miami at No.
5, Oregon at No. 4, Indiana at No.
3, Notre Dame at No. 2 and Ohio State at No. 1.
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