The 2026 season is weeks away from kicking off and if you’re a level-headed Miami Hurricanes enthusiast, you’re well-aware something special is brewing.
Something that goes deeper than the 13-3 run last year, those three legit upsets in the College Football Playoffs and an underdog coming up a drive short of knocking off No. 1 Indiana as the 10-seed for a national championship.
A switch has been flipped and you know good-and-hell-well that “The U” is on a trajectory to becoming a powerhouse again.
Honestly, nothing drives this narrative home more than the outside noise, chatter and negative energy from rival fans, jaded commentators and those with a chip on their shoulder regarding all things Miami.
Same at is ever was, same as it ever was…
It’s a sea of patronizing bozos who spent the past two decades talking about how much better college football is when the Miami Hurricanes are mixing it up at a high level; but these comments never come when the program is rolling—it’s usually after another season would crash and burn in November, racking up a few more losses and falling out of contention for a conference title.
You can spot these critics a mile away these days, as they’re the same crowd pivoting to digs amidst the success.
The clowns beating the drum tat Miami still didn’t win an ACC Championship last year—wanting to ignore that the Canes opened the year beating No. 6 Notre Dame and enjoyed a thrilling post-season where it upset No. 10 Texas A&M in College Station, dethroned No. 2 Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl and out-dueled No. 6 Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl.
The Canes were an underdog in every one of these monster-size match-up, yet prevailed—dominating in the trenches and looking like the more-physical and more-imposing squad in each game—but some still want to gaslight and tell you the season was tainted because a flawed tiebreaker rule kept Miami from a shot at No. 17 Virginia for a conference title in a half-full stadium in Charlotte in early December.
Same to be said for this coming-up short notion against an undefeated, team-of-destiny Hoosiers squad that went on to win it all; the detractors want Miami fans to consider the season a loss because the ultimate prize wasn’t achieved—the thing that literally only one team accomplishes every season.
“THE U” IS ‘BACK’; AS IS THE ANTI-MIAMI BIAS
The backflips and contortion efforts this crowd makes to diminish what Mario Cristobal has accomplished in four short years—the first two a total wash as he gutted the broken program Manny Diaz left behind, before thing legitimized in 2025.
It’s familiar, yet new for this era.
The Canes took a step forward the year prior, but transfer quarterback Cam Ward and an all-world offense don’t quite make a championship-caliber program.
Nobody should’ve known that better than “The U”; the old adage about defense winning championships—it’s been the mantra of every Canes head coach dating back to Howard Schnellenberger in the late seventies.
Jimmy Johnson and Butch Davis; both defensive gurus—while Dennis Erickson brought a high-octane one-back offense and knew to immediately get out of the way of that 1989 defense; leaving everything as Johnson had it, en route to a national championship his first season in Coral Gables—Erickson running it back again in 1991 with another world-class defense and high-flying aerial attack.
Cristobal understands trench warfare as well and was back to the drawing board last season, plucking the menacing Corey Hetherman from Minnesota—violence immediately on the menu as Miami got their defensive mojo back by game one against Notre Dame; Miami looking the part immediately after that side of the ball being an utter disaster in 2024.
This mini-history lesson comes with a purpose; to give hope to the jaded contingent of this fan base who will refuses to fully believe—those who hear the critics’ efforts to case-build and inject doubt into the equation.
It takes a special kind to keep bringing up Middle Tennessee State in 2022, a non-kneel against Georgia Tech in 2023 or a blown lead at Syracuse in 2024—and it’s downright diabolical to hear pundits regurgitating up the likes of Louisville and SMU, opposed to the way the Canes responded after those setbacks and closed out last season.
Yes, Cristobal and Miami gave away two games they shouldn’t have in 2025—and in the wee hours of November 1st last year, all seemed lost at 6-2—but how can those two losses continue to be what the talking heads point to, opposed to what came next?
Sitting with two losses, there was no margin or error remaining.
Miami needed to win out—and while Syracuse, North Carolina State, Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh won’t soon be confused with a Murder’s Row-type gauntlet—the Canes not only dominated the competition let on the schedule; they did it with style, found their mojo and accomplished something this program hadn’t done in years; they won big in November and went into the postseason on fire.
CRITICS CALLING LAST YEAR AN ABERRATION
If it was any other team not named Miami in that ten-spot last December—that program would’ve been the media darling, beloved underdog and America’s team throughout the playoffs.
Because it was the Hurricanes, a game-sealing interception—thrown by a quarterback college football deemed a villain last fall—became a bigger story than the seven-game win-streak to get Miami to that moment.
It’s also why so many want to treat it like a fluke and one-off going into this new year—underscored by the Hurricanes rolling in at No. 7 in the first AP pre-season poll—seen as a slap in the face by some, while the true Canes fans just smile.
Why? Because the disrespect means Miami is a problem again—and the actual ranking is just what Cristobal needed to temper emotions; reminding this year’s squad last year as last year and these current cats haven’t accomplished shit.
Let the blue bloods have their preseason stroke-fest; the Canes don’t want or need it.
Ohio State just sent 11 players off of last year’s loaded roster to NFL this spring, while turning to a new first-year offensive coordinator—and apparently the media and college football world as no worries about the Buckeyes are the preseason No. 1 team in the land.
Good for them and all those who truly hang their hat on August rankings—Oregon, Georgia, Notre Dame, Texas and Indiana all ahead of Miami as this new season gets rolling.
The rankings are inconsequential; the real story is the fact such a large swath of biased college football voters are either ignorant, ill-informed or have their head in the sand regarding reality and what the Hurricanes are set to field in 2026.
Again, not a shock and completely understandable when you really sit with the fact that Miami is back to being loathed in the same manner it was when this team was winning big in years past.
U-CULTURE HAS BEEN ON DISPLAY BEFORE
Four decades ago the Hurricanes went undefeated against a brutal schedule in 1987—wins over No. 20 Florida, No. 10 Arkansas, No. 4 Florida State, No. 10 Notre Dame and No. 8 South Carolina—before taking out No. 1 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl for the program’s second-ever title.
Eight months later the AP preseason poll came out; Florida State sat atop the rankings, Miami was No. 8 and Nebraska, Oklahoma, Clemson, UCLA, USC and Auburn separated the Sunshine State rivals—who just so happened to face each other in their Week Two season openers. The result?
No. 6 Miami 31, No. 1 Florida State 0
The Seminoles had their rap video and faux swagger; the Hurricanes just got back to work—the same “1-0” mentality that Cristobal preaches today; it came from the Johnson era—as did those battles at Greentree, where game-day felt like a breather after all that Cane-on-Cane practice field violence that took place all week.
You either have to be an unbiased professional, or a true Miami enthusiast to unpack what is really going on—this current State of Miami as year five under Cristobal gets underway.
A few myths to be dispelled or topics worth delving into with a new season two weeks out.
For starters, enough with the tired media narrative about the Hurricanes losing Rueben Bain and Ahkeem Mesidor to the NFL. Yes, for all intents and purposes the duo is “irreplaceable”—but not in the way it might’ve been years ago before Cristobal rolled in and started recruiting and developing at the level he and this staff are doing both.
Miami isn’t only portal-reliant and for those who follow recruiting; you know that guys like Marquise Lightfoot, Armondo Blount and Justin Scott were all hightly-touted 5-Star players who are now entering year three in this system—two under Jason Taylor and one with Damione Lewis back on staff.
These three also spent two year practicing beside Bain and Mesidor—and to this day, a group text still exists where the standard continues being driven home by two of the more exciting defensive rookies in this last draft class—a returning starter like Ahmad Moten on that list, as well as transfers like Damon Wilson, Jarquez Carter and Keona Davis, all immediately welcomed into the brotherhood and ready to follow the lead of those who came before them.
The world is already seeing rave reviews for both Bain and Mesidor in Tampa Bay and Los Angeles, respectively—first in the building and last to leave—which has been a common theme with all in this recent Miami draft class.
Francis Mauigoa is turning heads for one New York franchise, Anez Cooper is getting massive praise with the other—and former JUCO transfer Markel Bell is making big noise in Philadelphia.
Translation; there’s an intangible about playing in Cristobal’s system that not enough outsiders are paying attention to.
All this back-to-work, ass-busting energy—it’s not coach-speak or fluff. The culture has fully turned over and there is a mindset at Miami that doesn’t currently exist elsewhere.
Juices still not flowing?
Look no further than guys like Keionte Scott or Jakobe Thomas—two one-year players who both dominated in the secondary last fall—but did so fully embracing Miami as transfers and immediately feeling like Canes lifers and guys who did four full years at ’The U’.
Both speak of Miami as their home, the culture as if it were life-changing and the work-ethic and grind as the reason they are where they are right now—which lends itself to a bigger point.
2026 SETS UP FOR ANOTHER STEP FORWARD
Whatever is going on right now in Coral Gables is the real-deal; Cristobal’s teams getting incrementally better every year since he’s returned home—and there’s no reason to believe that year five won’t be another step forward, as well— but there’s something about this realization that is making people’s brains break.
You see their true colors in every new season preview that gets unveiled.
Sure, there are a handful pundits out there who are picking Miami—but do the really see what’s going on, or it is click-worthy content as the Canes trend well in the ol’ algorithms?
Not to compare this current state of the program to the 2001 national champions, but fans who lived through probation, sanctions and 31 lost scholarships in the mid-nineties—you could feel that shift and a little something different in the air each passing year.
1997 was that bottom-out moment, while 1998 as a roller coaster ride—none more than a 66-13 loss at Syracuse with a Big East title on the line, only to upset No. 2 UCLA a week later in a rescheduled game.
1999 was a step forward with an upset of No. 9 Ohio State in the Kickoff Classic—as well as taking No. 2 Penn State to the wire—but Miami proved it wasn’t there yet, blowing a lead to East Carolina and also losing to Florida State and Virginia Tech; a measuring stick as both faced off for the national championship.
By 2000 the pieces were all in place; the roster was loaded, the culture was in place, veterans who lived through the low of the low were now seniors and the Canes were ready to make a run. A stumble out the gate at Washington was a setback, but what followed was a Matrix-like moment—Miami becoming Neo as it went on a 34-game win-streak, won a national title in 2001 and got jobbed out of another in 2002.
Every great Canes era has that moment, a game, a season within a season or something that serves as a breakthrough—an event that turns boys into men and made Miami grow up overnight.
Tipping away a two-point conversion in the 1984 Orange Bowl got the party started—and losing the 1987 Fiesta Bowl to a Penn State team Miami should’ve blown the doors off of; it set the stage for that undeniable run that ended with a 1988 Orange Bowl upset of No. 1 Oklahoma.
It took getting jobbed at Notre Dame in 1988 to fuel a fire that had the Canes toppling the Irish a year later, en route to claiming the 1989 national title—while back-to-back Wide Right moments against Florida State lead to a ring in 1991 and a title game berth the following season.
Something happened at SMU last year that not enough on a national scale have acknowledged.
BOTTOM-OUT IN DALLAS CHANGED IT ALL
Go back and watch that poorly-officiated afternoon in Dallas, as things both unraveled and were taken from Miami in that overtime loss—cameras cutting to Cristobal and offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson visibly getting into it on the sidelines.
Miami wasn’t on the brink of letting a dream season slip away and the pressure was ramping up; the Canes coming off a lackadaisical first half against Stanford before overpowering them late.
The ghosts of Louisville still haunted this team—and coaches particularly, as their panic down 14-0 had them pressing and abandoning their bread-and-butter ground game, trying to get it all back one drive at a time—which backfired when Carson Beck coughed up four interceptions.
Miami lost its identity against Louisville and with season goals fast slipping away, this program didn’t know who or what it was by the time they rolled into SMU early November—but you have to believe it was that three-hour plane ride back to South Florida sitting at 6-2 where Cristobal and this staff found themselves, reminded this roster who they were and a season-defining seven-game win-streak followed, before coming up a throw short in the national title game.
For those who buy-in, there’s a belief that something changed that afternoon in Dallas and Miami hasn’t been the same since—in the best possible way as the setback cause some introspection that a narrow win couldn’t have provided.
It’s a sentiment that seems to get lost by outsiders who point to earlier stumbles suffered by Cristobal. Those early gaffes that took place before there was proof-of-concept and a post-season run that proved who Miami is.
That seven-game win-streak en route to a national title game as a 10-seed; it proved that Cristobal’s ass-busting, old school, accountability-driven, hard work culture is the perfect new-old school blueprint to make the Canes a powerhouse again.
Those who want to downplay it, go right ahead if he helps you sleep better at night—as you can’t fathom a world where Miami is “back” in any sense of the world.
Y’all need to believe that last year was an anomaly—not that a corner was turned—because if one was, then what does that really mean for college football?
HATERS’ WORST NIGHTMARES COMING TRUE
What happens with the sport’s villain, who had been deflated and out for years, just rolled back into town with a posse and is ready to turn things upside down again?
It’s been so long since Miami was a perennial power that older fans truly believed the Hurricanes were put out to pasture, while younger fans never lived in an era where “The U” was anything more than a has-been.
As a result, these are uncharted waters and it’s precisely why so many are toeing the company line, backing the blue bloods and are so quick to dismiss any notion that Miami can repeat last year’s feat.
Look at the degree to which so many refuse to put quarterback Darian Mensah on any early Heisman hopeful lists.
Don’t get it twisted, yes, some are hyping him—but so many are on their smear campaign against the Duke defector as they simply hate the fact the rich got richer and the Canes pulled another proven quarterback out of their hat at the final hour.
Miami pulling a Beck after a Ward and now a Mensah after a Beck; a lot of haters are out there punching air as they knew the Canes wouldn’t have been a contender with an Emory Williams or a Luke Nickel this year.
Anyone with eyeballs saw what Mensah did at Duke last year with lesser talent—and to bring along go-to receiver Cooper Barkate—who will settle in next to all-everything Malachi Toney and the deepest receivers room Miami has arguably ever had?
The embarrassment of riches is breaking their brains—and it doesn’t stop at receiver as Mark Fletcher, Jordan Lyle, Marty Brown and Gerald Pringle are back in the backfield; while true freshman Javion Mallory is already turning heads and earning rave reviews.
All the noise-makers can do is point to is some offensive line turnover—which is real—but it also has to be addressed in the context this is a Cristobal built-and-recruited team and Alex Mirabal is one of the best in the game at coaching up the position; this roster littered with old talent that has seen a lot of snaps and played a lot of position, while some of the best new talent in the game—Jackson Cantwell and Ben Congdon—will be fast-learners in this new system.
Miami had a video game-like offense with Ward in 2024, but because the defense was so porous—nobody on a national scale was overly-worried about the Hurricanes.
Those willing to be honest with what this new roster brings to the table; Mensah as so much to work with that Ward and Beck combined did—and his ability to play-make on the fly—this will be the most-dangerous offense in the country this season.
On the other site, it’s year two under Hetherman—who had the ability to play it vanilla last season, leaning on Bain and Mesidor—and while there’s no scenario where Miami wouldn’t have killed to have either back, their absence will change things schematically with what the Canes’ second-year coordinator will build with the new tools in is shed.
This is easily one of the top secondaries in the nation, has a linebacking corps about to bust out with some newer talent—Bobby Pruitt and Kellen Wiley—while benefitting from Mo Toure getting another year, while Chase Smith bringing some man-weight and experience to that room.
One doesn’t even have to really deep-dive what’s going on with Miami’s roster in 2026 to get a good feel for where this thing is headed—and it legit takes a concerted effort so slag on what the Hurricanes are going to roll out this fall.
Cherry on top; a light load out the gate for this team to get acclimated—at Stanford, Florida A&M, at Wake Forest and Central Michigan are the equivalent of an NFL-like pre-season—before Miami sees an October where it’s at Clemson, Florida State, Pittsburgh and at North Carolina.
All of which set up a post-season energy in November and a push for the College Football Playoffs—and and ACC Championship game—closing with a road trip to Notre Dame and home games against Duke, Virginia Tech and Boston College to close it all out.
If college football pundits were authentic truth-tellers, this would be a consensus Top 5 team expected to win the Atlantic Coast Conference—while making a deep College Football Playoff run—and the first year in a minute that anyone could confidently predict a 12-0 regular season, while settling for 11-1 if things don’t work out at Clemson or Notre Dame.
Tired narratives are just that; tired—and the stereotyping is played out. No other coach in the game is still catching strays for three or four year old losses before he’d built-out his roster and is program—but that’s the go-to for the anti-Cristobal and anti-Miami crowd.
Much more to say on the subject as the season unfolds, but for now a warning shot to all of those who want to call the Canes’ deep run last year a fluke—your bias is clouding your judgement and your reality check it on deck.
Christian Bello has been covering University of Miami athletics since the mid-nineties. Getting his start with CanesTime, he eventually launched allCanesBlog—which led to a featured columnist stint with BleacherReport. He’s since rolled out the unfiltered, ItsAUThing.com where he’ll use his spare time to put decades of U-related knowledge to use for those who care to read. Hit him on Twitter for all things U-related @ItsAUThingBLOG.