Miami’s long wait is over. After a 2025 season that stretched into the second half of January and ended with the kind of finish Hurricanes fans won’t forget anytime soon, No. 7 Miami opens the 2026 campaign Friday night at Stanford.
The Hurricanes will take the field at Stanford Stadium at 9 p.m. Eastern, with the game set for national television on ESPN. For running back Mark Fletcher Jr., the start of a new season is exactly what the program has been waiting for.
“It’s about time,” Fletcher said. “We’re just ready.”
Miami’s offseason was unusual in more ways than one. It was shorter than normal because of the run to the national title game - the program’s first appearance there since the 2002 season - but it also felt longer because the last images of the year were so painful: a disastrous blocked punt, a game-sealing interception and another team celebrating a championship on Miami’s home field.
Now the Hurricanes get to start fresh, and they bring plenty back with them. Fletcher is one of the familiar pieces from last year’s playoff team, and he headlines a backfield that looks loaded again. Miami returned every player from its running back group and added four-star freshman Javian Mallory.
The biggest change comes under center. Carson Beck, last year’s starter, is now with the Arizona Cardinals, and Miami turned to Duke transfer Darian Mensah to run the offense. Mensah spent the offseason learning the system, building timing with his teammates and getting ready for this opener.
“Super excited for the opportunity,” said Mensah, a San Luis Obispo, California, native. “I’m going back home to California.
I have some people out there. But the goal is to just go 1-0.
It’s a business trip. Extremely excited to go out and play another defense.”
Defensively, Miami has had to replace some major names after losing first-round picks Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor, but there is still a lot of talent in the room. Ahmad Moten Sr. and Justin Scott are the anchors up front, and the line also picked up Damon Wilson II, who was an All-SEC second-team selection. The secondary brings back all of its outside cornerbacks, along with safeties Bryce Fitzgerald and Zechariah Poyser.
“We’ve just been preparing … It’s been seven and a half months,” linebacker Mo Toure said. “We’re just prepared, like we’ve been preparing every single day. We’re going to continue to prepare until Friday, continue to prepare for the moment and just be ready when the time comes.”
Stanford already has a game under its belt. The Cardinal opened the season with a comeback win over Hawaii, giving them a chance to knock off some rust before facing Miami. That game also gave the Hurricanes a week of film to study, though Stanford enters this matchup with some injuries after that opener.
First-year coach Tavita Pritchard’s team is expected to have a tough year and was picked to finish last in the ACC preseason poll. Still, Stanford is not the kind of soft early-season opponent Miami often sees, and the Hurricanes know it.
The Cardinal’s offense showed enough in Week 1 to draw attention from Miami. Micah Ford ran for 99 yards and three touchdowns against Hawaii, and the Hurricanes came away impressed.
“Great, elusive back; a hard runner who gets downhill,” Toure said. “He’s very tenacious.
… He runs the ball with tenacity. He runs hard.
After you pile on him, he’s still trying to … drive his feet.”
Quarterback Davis Warren, a transfer from Michigan, also made a strong first impression. He threw for 310 yards and a touchdown in the win over the Rainbow Warriors, and Miami defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman said the Hurricanes know what they’re up against.
“He’s played in some of the biggest environments. He has some really good wins, and you can tell he’s got a good feel, a good control of the offense right now,” Hetherman said.
“They’ve done a great job developing him in the offseason and playing together with his teammates and connecting there. I thought, right from the start, he looked like he had a really good feeling and control of it.
He’s a guy that we’re going to have to get after all day.”
Miami enters the game as a 24.5-point favorite, but Fletcher said the Hurricanes are treating Stanford with respect.
“What we’ve seen is great guys who play great together,” Fletcher said. “They play fast.
(They are a) physical team. It’s going to definitely be a challenge for us that we’re ready to take on.”
In Other News...
Stanford Faces Its First Real Pritchard Test With Little Room For Error
Stanford got out of Week 1 with a win over Hawaii, but the margin for comfort was slim enough that Tavita Pritchard spent much of the aftermath talking less about celebration than correction. The Cardinal showed enough in the 37-27 result to feel better about having a first game on film, yet the bigger value of that opener may be the chance to sort out what still needs cleaning up before the schedule gets much less forgiving.
No. 7 Miami arrives with a fresh test and enough firepower to make every snap matter, especially with Darian Mensah taking over at quarterback. Stanford is trying to use its opening-game experience as a springboard, but the challenge now is more than just the opponent on the other sideline. The Cardinal are also managing injury concerns as they head into a week where there is little room to absorb another setback. [Read more 🡒]
Davis Warren Just Became Stanfords Biggest Hope Against No. 7 Miami
Stanford heads into Friday night with Davis Warren at the center of whatever chance the Cardinal have against No. 7 Miami. The Michigan transfer gave the offense a steady look in the season opener, and now he draws the kind of stage that tells you a lot about a quarterback early in a new run. With kickoff set for 9 p.m. ET on ESPN, this becomes a measuring-stick game for Stanford as much as it does a showcase for Warren.
Miami has already spent part of the week talking up the challenge he presents, which is usually the first sign a defense respects what it sees on film. The Hurricanes know they will have to disrupt his rhythm and prevent him from settling into the kind of comfort that lets a quarterback steer an offense with confidence. For Stanford, the hope is obvious: if Warren keeps playing like a veteran who belongs in these moments, the Cardinal can make this one more interesting than the matchup suggests. [Read more 🡒]