Jake Dickert didn’t just walk away from Miami’s 33-20 win over Wake Forest with a loss. He walked away believing his team had landed a real punch.
That’s the part that should stick with the Hurricanes. Miami jumped out to a 31-7 lead in Winston-Salem in Week 3 and still had to weather a second-half push from the Demon Deacons, but Dickert said the physical edge belonged to Wake Forest.
"One thing I left the game saying was [that] we were the more physical team," he told David Pollack.
That’s not the kind of line coaches toss out casually, and Dickert didn’t say it like a cheap shot. His comments carried pride, but they also came with respect for Miami.
He followed that by praising Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney, and he called the wide receiver the best player in the country. He also pointed Pollack toward what he sees as Miami’s real strength heading into the stretch run.
"There are some things we took advantage of, but at the end of the day they're a really salty football team. They've been there. They know what it takes to win, and they've got high-caliber coaching and schematics, which will always matter when it becomes December.
That’s the part Miami can take to heart. The Hurricanes are sitting in the top five, loaded with Heisman contenders, All-ACC talent and future NFL draft picks, and they’re the team everyone else in the ACC is chasing. Wake Forest made that clear by refusing to fold after the early deficit.
And the Demon Deacons have earned enough credibility to make the point matter. They went 9-4 last season and are 3-1 this year, with a road win over previously-ranked Louisville already on the ledger. So when Dickert says his group matched Miami’s physicality, it isn’t coming from nowhere.
Miami, though, also got a lesson it can use. The Hurricanes let an opponent breathe after building a huge lead, and Wake Forest responded with the kind of fight that forces a contender to pay attention. That may have been a wake-up call Cristobal and his staff will quietly appreciate.
The bigger message is simple: every team left on Miami’s ACC schedule is going to try to test it the same way. The Hurricanes have the reputation, the ranking and the roster. Now they have to make sure nobody else leaves the field saying the same thing Dickert did.
In Other News...
Miami Fans Have Several Week 5 Games That Suddenly Matter
The Week 5 college football slate suddenly carries extra weight for Miami fans, because several games around the ACC and the national race could shift the picture around the Hurricanes in a hurry. Matchups involving Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Louisville, NC State, Virginia and Florida State all sit on the radar, not just for conference implications but for what they could say about the teams Miami is measuring itself against as the season settles in.
Beyond the ACC, the playoff conversation adds even more pressure to the weekend, with Alabama against Mississippi State, Ohio State against Iowa and Florida against Missouri all capable of nudging the rankings in a new direction. For Miami, the stakes are simple enough: the Hurricanes need the teams ahead of them, around them and in their orbit to keep creating openings, and Week 5 offers several chances for that to happen at once. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Tackle Samson Okunlola Has A Chance To Change The Narrative
Samson Okunlola is starting to look like the kind of player Miami has been waiting for along the offensive line. The redshirt junior has taken over at left tackle this season, and his mix of athleticism and versatility has already pushed him into a much bigger conversation, with CBS Sports projecting him as a first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. For a program that has spent plenty of time searching for stability up front, that is the kind of buzz that can matter.
Okunlola arrived at Miami with five-star expectations out of the 2023 high school class, and his college career has gradually started to match the recruiting hype. He has shown more improvement and consistency in his playing time, which is exactly what the Hurricanes need from a blindside protector heading into the next stretch. If he keeps trending the right way, the early draft chatter may be only the beginning of a much bigger story. [Read more 🡒]
Florida State Fans Already Have One Road Trip Circled In 2026
The 2026 Miami-Florida State meeting at Hard Rock Stadium already has the feel of one of the must-see dates on the ACC calendar. The Seminoles are set to travel to Miami on Saturday, Oct. 17, in a game that should draw plenty of interest from both fan bases, especially with the full schedules now out and the rivalry tucked into the middle of the fall slate.
Ticket information is already part of the conversation, which tells you how much anticipation surrounds this one even with the game still far off. With both programs 2026 schedules in view and recent results helping shape the early storyline, the matchup offers an easy target for fans planning ahead, whether they are looking at the Hurricanes home lineup or eyeing a trip south for one of the ACCs most recognizable showdowns. [Read more 🡒]