Kirk Herbstreit puts all of his chips on Miami with latest Canes take for 2026 season

Miami's expectations for the 2026 were already high and now one of the top voices in college football, Kirk Herbstreit, has pushed them to the limit.

Herbstreit went on "The Pat McAfee Show" this week and named Miami as a team he believes can win the national championship this season.

"I think Miami might be the team to win the National Championship this year. That team is loaded."

Kirk Herbstreit

Kirk Herbstreit clearly believes in the Miami Hurricanes

Miami is coming off a run to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, has reloaded at quarterback and still has enough proven skill talent back to make the Hurricanes one of the sport's easiest teams to hype up entering the fall.

Miami lost important pieces from last season's team, including quarterback Carson Beck, offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa, and defensive ends Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor. But the Hurricanes got to work in the transfer portal and landed QB Darian Mensah from Duke, giving Mario Cristobal another high-end quarterback to lead Shannon Dawson's offense.

Malachi Toney will also be back after he set Miami's single-season record with 109 catches as a true freshman in 2025.

The run game will be steady again with RB Mark Fletcher Jr. coming back for another season. Fletcher rushed for 1,192 yards and 12 touchdowns last season. He also set a College Football Playoff record with 507 rushing yards during Miami's postseason run.

Put those pieces together, and Miami has a real argument for one of the best offensive cores in the country.

Miami will have plenty of opportunities to prove they can live up to the hype

Plenty of teams on the Canes schedule will try to turn things around, but based off of the performances from last year, Wake Forest, Pitt, Notre Dame and Duke pose the toughest challenges. Virginia Tech, FSU and Clemson have a very good chance of being better than they were last season (no matter what you might think of them). And Stanford and North Carolina could also improve.

• Sept. 4: at Stanford (4-8)
• Sept. 10: Florida A&M (5-7)
• Sept. 18: at Wake Forest (9-4)
• Sept. 26: Central Michigan (7-6)
• Oct. 3: at Clemson (7-6)
• Oct. 17: Florida State (5-7)
• Oct. 24: Pittsburgh (8-5)
• Oct. 31: at North Carolina (4-8)
• Nov. 7: at Notre Dame (10-2), 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock
• Nov. 14: Duke (9-5, ACC champion)
• Nov. 20: Virginia Tech (3-9)
• Nov. 28: Boston College (2-10)

The Notre Dame game will carry extra weight after last season's playoff debate and rivalry renewal. It also serves as the toughest road game for Miami.

Miami fans have waited a long time for national voices to treat the Hurricanes like a real championship contender again. Now the Canes have to make that prediction look like prophecy.

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