In his post-week four analysis, former Alabama national championship-winning quarterback Greg McElroy said "Miami is a legitimate national championship contender...There is not a team in college football that is scarier on both sides of the ball."
Miami dominated Florida on Saturday night in a 26-7 win. Other than an 80 yard drive on their only score, Florida was stifled offensively throughout the game. McElroy discussed the Miami defense at length and was impressed with Miami running backs Mark Fletcher Jr. and CharMar Brown.
Miami is one of the best defenses nationally through week four. The Hurricanes are in the top 30 nationally in scoring defense, total defense and rushing and passing yards allowed. South Florida had a season high 332 yards allowed by Miami and Notre Dame's 24 points were the most against the Hurricanes.
Defensive linemen Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor continued their dominance, combining for 19 pressures against Florida. McElroy provided multiple reasons why he was impressed with Miami defensively in 2025. Miami is one of the most complete teams nationally through week four,.
The progress that has been made defensively...They hold Florida to just 141 yards. That's the lowest output this century, which is pretty remarkable...How often do you see a team go ofer on third down? That's right...0 for 13 on third down conversions. That's one of the worst we've seen in the FBS since 2022. The pass rush was relentless and the coverage on the outside was outstanding...-Greg McElroy
Miami has won multiple ways in 2025. Carson Beck had a down game versus Florida, but Miami had 184 yards rushing and three touchdowns on the ground. The Hurricanes were dominant physically against the Gators on both lines of scrimmage.
The latest AP Top 25 college football poll has Miami jump up to the No. 2 spot 👀 pic.twitter.com/Z0CRVld2HH
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) September 21, 2025
Then you look at Miami's offense...You can see the rep counts and the snap exposure as things started to get going. Mark Fletcher, who finished with 24 carries, CharMar Brown, who finished with 18 carries...Just physically wore down Florida throughout the game. Miami right now they can beat you through the air, They can beat you in a track meet...in a slugfest...on the ground. There's just a lot of pathways to victory.-Greg McElroy
Fletcher had 24 carries for 116 yards and one TD and Brown had 18 attempts for 80 yards and two scores. Brown would also have had over 100 yards rushing, but a 48 yard TD was ruled down for forward progress after three yards that would have put Miami ahead 20-0 in the third quarter.
Miami has two wins over ranked teams in 2025 with victories over Notre Dame and South Florida. Florida, who is 12th in the 247Sports Team Talent composite. McElroy stated that "Miami is a legitimate national championship contender."