To put it bluntly, the Miami Hurricanes have taken the Duke Blue Devils' lunch money, pulled their underwear over their heads, all before stuffing them into a locker after what transpired in the transfer portal. Miami is toying with their former head coach Manny Diaz's team in the funniest way possible. Mario Cristobal's team now has two former Duke star players in Darian Mensah and Cooper Barkate.
This did not stop Miami alum in Bruce Feldman of The Athletic and FOX Sports telling us all how it is.
As @BruceFeldmanCFB said on The Audible, Miami is currently dunking its former coach's head in the toilet, poaching both his star QB and 1,100-yard receiver. https://t.co/WtsnyOwAYe
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) January 27, 2026
Yes, Feldman told his colleague at The Athletic and fellow co-host on The Audible that "Miami is currently dunking its former coach's head in the toilet, poaching both his star QB and 1,100-yard receiver." Duke may have just won the ACC, but Miami just played in the national championship. The rivalry between Miami and Duke is at an all-time high, especially with Diaz having led both programs.
This connection between Mensah and Barkate may allow Miami to win the ACC and CFP next season.
Miami has become strong and powerful at the top of the ACC this winter
It may not look all that great optically from a national perspective, but college football is at its best when budding rivalries like this one become acrimonious. Duke and Miami did play in the ACC Coastal for years, but it took two great, coinciding college football seasons to bring us to this point. We are still trying to figure out what the future holds in the wonderful world of NIL, but it has leveled the field.
For Miami, it has helped the Hurricanes get back on top in the college football pantheon as a traditional power of sorts. For Duke, it has allowed them to play up a bit as a traditional basketball school. Yes, it stinks for a team like Duke to lose two of its best players to a rival team, but keep in mind that Mensah did not begin his college career in Durham. He previously starred over at Tulane.
In the end, Miami has become the team to beat in the ACC, despite Duke having won the league a season ago. While there is a strong possibility that the Blue Devils pull back just a bit, this was only a 9-5 football team from a year ago. They were 7-5 (6-2) heading into the conference title bout vs. Virginia... As for Miami, they are among the most serious of contenders to win next season's playoff.
If Mensah and Barkate's connection continues to blossom, look for Miami to make another deep run.