Miami Hurricanes football is RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER!!!!!!!! And we’ve convened the SOTU crew to give some predictions on the season.
If you missed the first two parts of the season preview discussion, check the links right here:
Now, let’s get into the final installment of our season preview, including best case/worst case scenario, and calling our shot predicting the final record for the year. LEGGO!!
How are you feeling about Mario Cristobal leading the Canes program?
Cam Underwood: I feel great. We hired Cristobal to come home to The U to rebuild the Canes program
from a middling, underperforming outfit and turn it into a championship caliber juggernaut. With consecutive 10 win regular seasons, and a run to the National Championship game in 2025, and one of the most talented rosters in the country this season, that’s exactly what has happened. Sure, Miami still needs to get over the hump and win a championship, but the outlook is great and I’m very happy with the job Cristobal has done since he’s come back here. 1-0!
Justin Dottavio: Good. I’m going to hope that, like in the past, Cristobal has improved on his remaining weaknesses. He seemed to realize his offensive mindset needed tweaking. Now he needs to attack special teams like he does everything else. Full cafecito crazy.
Craig T. Smith: I have been heavy handed on Mario for years, but he proved last year that he’s the man for the job. He’s a tremendous recruiter, as we’ve especially seen this offseason. But the late-game coaching lapses weren’t there last year, and the lack of discipline in previous years was cleaned up and pretty tight in 2025. Those are two massive changes that can help Miami win close games, and I have to credit Cristobal for that.
Mike Schiffman: I feel great. The Miami Hurricanes football program is in the best place it’s been in a long time. There is NFL talent on both sides of the ball. The recruiting is impressive. The coaching is hard and effective. There’s just an awesome culture around Greentree right now. And the best part is our head coach has his dream job. That is an incredibly securing feeling.
Jake Marcus: Let’s not pretend the Cristobal era started smoothly – 5-7 and 7-6 his first two years, and there are still real scars. The Georgia Tech embarrassment is still a huge blemish on his résumé, and so is the Syracuse collapse in that 10-3 season that should’ve been so much more (even last year two losses to Louisvile and SMU made things harder than it needed to be). Those weren’t just bad losses, they were the kind that made you question whether the whole thing was ever going to click. But it’s clicked. For years the recruiting was never the question but now the roster-building and the staff are all pulling in the same direction, and you got exactly what we saw last year: a playoff run and a national championship appearance.
Rob Weaver: Fantastic. Mario is a CEO kind of coach and it feels like Hurricanes Inc. is on its firmest ground in 20 years. We have several straight years of top recruiting rankings, strong portal additions at key positions, and last offseason we locked up extensions for both coordinators each of whom have shown an ability to produce an elite squad. Funny things can happen in any particular season – injuries, suspensions, fluke penalties or plays in key games – but the foundation is now there to compete at a high level year in and year out. And fortunately for us, Mario is a ‘Canes guy. If he gets really successful, he’s not going anywhere (and UM will ensure he’s paid well enough for that not to be a temptation).
What are your expectations for Miami in 2026?
Underwood: To be the bullies on the block. Gone are the days of trying to punch above our weight. We are the big dogs now. We are the hunted. And I am embracing that truth and look forward to flexing our muscles on our opponents throughout the 2026 season.
Dottavio: 11-1 is the floor, ACC Championship WIN is the floor, Final Four is the floor.
Smith: ACC title and a playoff win, not just making the playoff. The bar has been raised. This program is way, WAY better than anyone else in the ACC. They have to raise a trophy in Charlotte this year. Absolutely have to.
Schiffman: I expect no more than one regular-season loss and no less than an ACC Championship, and a spot in the CFP National Championship Game.
Marcus: Natty or bust. I know that’s the easy answer, but when you actually add up everything we just went through – a defense that barely took a step back and might be scarier than last year’s, an offense that’s stacked at every skill position with a legitimate Heisman arm now throwing to it, and a program that’s already proven it can get to the mountaintop – anything short of a national championship has to feel like underachieving in 2026.
Weaver: Once you’re in the playoffs, anything can happen on a game-to-game basis, but the floor for me is a College Football Playoffs Quarterfinals appearance (barring catastrophic injuries). CFP Quarters means that the ‘Canes had a great regular season and were ACC champs, OR they stumbled a bit but at least still won an opening round game (like last year).
How do you feel about Miami being the hunted, not the hunter, this season?
Underwood: I. LOVE. IT. This is what we’ve been waiting for. I’m fully comfortable playing the role of jerk/juggernaut/bully and we have the team to do it. Hell yeah. Fear us. And if you don’t, that’s fine. We’ll still run through your face and look at your body splattered on the ground as we move on to the next game after a blowout victory.
Dottavio: Miami has always been the hunted. The Hurricanes are everyone else’s least favorite team. Keep it that way.
Smith: Blah. Whatever. Everyone has hated Miami for as long as I can remember anyways. As Cam would say, #LetsBeJerks.
Schiffman: Bring it on. That’s the way it was in the 80s, early 90s, and early 2000s. It’s the way it should be going forward under Coach Cristobal.
Marcus: This program snuck into the playoff a year ago and rode that all the way to a national championship appearance – but let’s not pretend the road here was smooth. This is the same fan base that lived through embarrassing losses and stretches where Miami was borderline a laughingstock nationally. So yeah, being the hunted instead of the hunter feels good. It’s earned, and honestly, it’s about time. The hype is real and finally warranted.
Weaver: As it should be.
Call your shot: What’s your prediction for the W/L record for Miami this season?
Underwood: 12-0. Undefeated. #1 seed heading into the playoffs. This is the strongest team Miami’s had under Mario Cristobal, and we’ll show and prove that all season long, one game at a time. Let’s GO!
Dottavio: 11-1 but 15-1 overall. This is the natty year or bust!
Smith: 10-2 regular season (yep, that’s me, the semi-pessimist, still somewhere in there). But Miami still gets to Charlotte and wins it. So, 11-2 going into the playoff and with a head of steam. And Miami gets a top 4 seed, gets hot, and gets national title No. 6. 14-2.
Schiffman: I would love to type 16-0, but I think Dottavio has it right with the one loss. Beyond that, it really is natty or bust this season.
Marcus: 15-1 and a National Championship. ACC title and natty or bust is simply the expectation after last year.
Weaver: 11-1 regular season, ACC Champs, National Champs. Since the dawn of time, Mario has always had a Mario game, so there will be a stumble somewhere. But with this schedule and with all the returning talent (plus portal adds), not winning a natty this year will be such a missed opportunity.
There you have it. Our record predictions for the Canes’ 2026 season. Drop your season predictions in the comments section below.
