The good thing about making a deep run in the CFP is that you can look back on the regular season losses with less disdain and frustration. If Miami got left out for Notre Dame, myself, along with thousands of other Canes fans, would still be devastated by this ugly loss in the middle of October. Before I go any further, I am sure there are many readers who would say the loss at SMU was worse. And in a way, they would be correct. It was an awful loss due to poor offensive play, costly turnovers,
and historically terrible ACC officiating. I look at it in a different way however. That loss in Dallas brought the 2025 Miami Hurricanes football team closer together and helped ignite the spark that led them all the way to the 2026 National Championship game. Louisville it is!
It was a Friday night. I was feeling confident after Miami’s 5-0 start to the season. Plus, the Canes were coming off a bye. An extra week of practice to prepare for Jeff Brohm and Co? It sounded great to me. In retrospect, I should have known what was coming.
It was a disaster from the start. The Cardinals went up 14-0 in the first quarter after a 35-yard catch-and-run from Miller Moss to Chris Bell. Don’t get me wrong, Bell is awesome and will play in the NFL. That said, the soft coverage and lack of resistance was something Canes fans hadn’t seen under new defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman. When Bell had a similar 36-yard catch-and-run touchdown in the beginning of the fourth quarter, I felt like I was watching Miami’s 2024 defense.
After the Canes scored a touchdown and two-point conversion midway through the fourth quarter to cut the lead to three points, I thought they had a good chance to pull off the come-from-behind win. Then, Miami got the ball back with four minutes left, two timeouts, and 85 yards from a winning touchdown. Carson Beck was leading his team down the field, picking up first down after first down. We all know what happened next. Beck threw the game-sealing interception from the 31-yard line on a sideline pass intended for tight end Elijah Lofton. It was Beck’s fourth interception of the night, which I am sure delighted Georgia, FSU, and Florida fans everywhere.
What a brutal loss at the time. I know I was pissed. I was especially pissed that Miami let a Miller Moss-led team to come into Hard Rock Stadium and control the game. Miller Moss?! Really?! Nothing against the guy, but he’s not the type of quarterback that strikes fear in the opposing fanbase. I was far more scared of DJ Lagway before the Gator game. Turns out it wasn’t even close. The Louisville Cardinals caught the Miami Hurricanes on a bad night and took full advantage. Luckily for the team and us fans, the loss didn’t submarine Miami’s season.
There is no doubt in my mind that Coach Cristobal has the Miami Hurricanes football program going in the right direction. I couldn’t be more excited to see what the 2026 Canes offense can do with the playmakers new quarterback Darian Mensah has at his disposal. Not to mention what Hetherman can do on the defensive side of the ball in year two.
The biggest thing that needs to be improved upon is Miami’s play against ACC opponents. The Canes controlled the line of scrimmage against big and talented teams like Notre Dame, Florida, Texas A&M, and Ohio State. However, they struggled mightily against smaller and inferior lines (they still have talent, but you know what I’m saying here) in Louisville and SMU.
I hope and expect the Miami Hurricanes to back in the CFP next season. I would take a CFP invite over an ACC Championship, as this past season was incredibly successful. But, if Mario Cristobal wants to become an all-time great coach, he needs to lead his alma mater to its first conference crown since it joined back in 2004.
