To no one’s surprise, the Miami Hurricanes are the heavy favorites to win the ACC at the start of the 2026 college football season.
Miami came out on top of the preseason poll chosen by nearly 200 media members at the 2026 ACC Media Kickoff. The Canes beat second-place SMU by 365 points in the poll. Of 188 possible vote, Miami earned 165 first-place nods; Clemson came in a distant second with seven.
Coach Mario Cristobal reloaded the roster after leading UM all the way to the College Football Playoff national championship game last season. Quarterback Darian Mensah comes in from Duke to recharge the offense alongside record-setting receiver Malachi Toney and punishing running back Mark Fletcher Jr. Damon Wilson II leads a refueling of the nation’s best pass-rushing defense that saw stars Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor go in the first round of the 2026 NFL draft.
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The Hurricanes have been preseason favorites regularly over the past few years, yet they’re still seeking their first conference championship appearance since joining the ACC in 2004. With Heisman Trophy finalist Cam Ward at QB in 2024, Miami lost two of its last three games to miss what was then the new 12-team CFP. Carson Beck took over in 2025, and the U again saw two losses in a three-game span, but this time they ran through the final month of the schedule to sneak into the playoff field with the final at-large bid.
Miami would like to make it easier this year, and a reworked tiebreaker policy should help their case. They play only one of the top 5 teams in the preseason poll (a trip to Clemson on Oct. 3). The Hurricanes’ toughest game of the season is a non-conference tilt at Notre Dame, the team they edged for that final playoff spot last year.
ACC football preseason poll 2026
First-place votes are marked off in parentheses.
Miami football schedule 2026
All times Eastern.
*- ACC game
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: After CFP run, will Miami football finally make ACC championship game?
Reporting by Dan Rorabaugh, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Dan Rorabaugh, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida | USA TODAY Network
