Miami will begin the 2026 season as the No. 7 team in the country.
The preseason AP Top 25 landed on Monday, placing the Hurricanes firmly among college football’s leading contenders after last season’s run to the National Championship Game.
Miami even received a first-place vote.
That tells you how much the conversation around this programme has changed.
The Canes are no longer heading into a season hoping to prove they belong among the national elite. They enter 2026 already expected to be there.
After adding Darian Mensah at quarterback and retaining stars such as Malachi Toney and Mark Fletcher Jr., that expectation is understandable.
There are still questions to answer. Miami have rebuilt significant parts of both lines, several camp battles remain unsettled and the depth chart is still taking shape.
But No. 7 feels like confirmation of the bigger picture.
Miami are expected to contend again.
Mensah, Toney and Fletcher earn Walter Camp recognition
Monday brought even more national attention for Miami’s offence.
Mensah, Toney and Fletcher have all been named to the Walter Camp Player of the Year preseason watch list, giving the Hurricanes three representatives among the 50 players selected nationally.
It is quite a collection of weapons.
Mensah arrives after producing at an elite level last season, Toney enters year two as one of the biggest names in college football, and Fletcher remains the established leader of an incredibly deep running back room.
Watch lists obviously do not win games, but having three genuine national award candidates in the same offence gives Shannon Dawson a pretty useful starting point.
The challenge is now turning all that preseason recognition into production.
Receiver room moves forward without Vaughn
There was also significant roster news on Monday, with Cam Vaughn dismissed from the programme.
We covered that story separately as it broke, but from a football perspective it puts additional attention on Miami’s remaining receivers.
Toney and Cooper Barkate remain major pieces, while Daylyn Upshaw has been one of the notable performers of camp and is pushing for a bigger role. Josh Moore, Somourian Wingo and Vandrevius Jacobs also have an even clearer opportunity.
Miami’s receiver room is thinner than it was, but there is still plenty of talent available.
With camp now into its third week, those position battles are quickly moving towards actual depth-chart decisions.
The Last Word from Across the Pond
No. 7 in the country. Three Walter Camp Player of the Year candidates. Coming off a National Championship Game appearance.
The expectations around Miami are not exactly subtle anymore.
That is the position Cristobal has spent years trying to put this programme in. The Canes have recruited, developed and added through the portal to build a roster capable of competing at the highest level.
Now comes the part that matters.
Eighteen days from Stanford, Miami are officially one of the teams everyone will be watching.
