Malachi Toney and Darian Mensah make Miami the offense everyone has to catch up with

J.D. PicKell of On3 ranked Miami as the top offense in college football entering the 2026 season. His top five had Miami ahead of Oregon, Ohio State, Texas and USC, with Ole Miss, LSU, Notre Dame, Indiana and Texas Tech rounding out the top 10.

Miami averaged 30.9 points per game last season, sixth in the ACC. That was good enough to help the Hurricanes reach the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.

Miami offense has enough firepower to make a No. 1 national ranking feel justified

Mensah is a proven ACC winner at the most important position on the field and he is walking into a skill group with one of the best receivers in the country, a 1,000-yard running back and a familiar target from Duke.

Toney led the nation with 109 catches in 2025 and also led the ACC with 1,211 receiving yards. He took the college football world by storm and the expectations are high for 2026.

The chemistry between Mensah and Barkate should translate to their time at Miami. Whenever Toney is facing double teams, Barkate will be the security blanket in the passing game that can keep the offense firing on all cylinders.

Biggest storylines for the offenses ranked 2-10

2. Oregon Ducks

Dante Moore is back, and that alone makes Oregon a threat to lead the Big Ten in scoring again. The Ducks averaged 36.9 points per game in 2025, second in the conference, with Moore throwing for 3,565 yards and 30 touchdowns on his way to a Third Team All-Big Ten selection.

3. Ohio State Buckeyes

Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith made this offense nearly impossible to stop during Ohio State's undefeated regular season. Sayin threw for 3,610 yards and 32 touchdowns, while Smith caught 87 passes for 1,243 yards and 12 scores. Miami ended the Buckeyes' season in the CFP quarterfinal, but the pieces that made this offense elite are mostly back for another run.

4. Texas Longhorns

Arch Manning enters the year as one of the most talked-about quarterbacks in the country (again), and Texas needs him to take a jump after averaging 30.5 points per game in 2025. Manning threw 26 touchdown passes and ran for 10 more last season, and now he'll have a new downfield weapon in Auburn transfer WR Cam Coleman, who caught 56 passes for 708 yards and five touchdowns a year ago.

5. USC Trojans

USC's offense was a legitimate strength in 2025, averaging 35.8 points per game, trailing only Indiana and Oregon in the Big Ten. QB Jayden Maiava returns after throwing for 3,711 yards and 24 touchdowns while adding six more scores on the ground in 13 games.

6. Ole Miss Rebels

Ole Miss made it to the CFP semifinals last season before falling to Miami, and the offense was a huge reason why. Trinidad Chambliss threw for 3,937 yards and 22 touchdowns, while Kewan Lacy ran for 1,609 yards and 24 scores, helping the Rebels average 36.9 points per game. Chambliss will return for his sixth year of college football but this season will be without HC Lane Kiffin.

7. LSU Tigers

Kiffin left Ole Miss for LSU this offseason, and he inherits a Tigers offense that badly needed a spark after averaging just 22.8 points per game in 2025. Arizona State transfer QB Sam Leavitt should be one of the additions that turns things around for LSU. He threw for 4,513 yards and 34 touchdowns against only nine interceptions across 20 games as a Sun Devil.

8. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Notre Dame averaged 42 points per game in 2025, one of the best marks in the country, but lands at No. 8. The concern is losing both Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price to the NFL, even with QB CJ Carr coming back after throwing for 2,741 yards, 24 touchdowns, and just six interceptions. Wideouts Jordan Faison and Jaden Greathouse give Carr a safety net, but replacing that kind of production at running back is no small task.

9. Indiana Hoosiers

Indiana rode Fernando Mendoza to a perfect 16-0 season and the program's first national championship, and the Hoosiers led the entire Big Ten in scoring at 41.6 points per game along the way. Mendoza's gone now, but TCU transfer QB Josh Hoover steps in with over 9,600 career passing yards and 71 touchdowns, so Indiana has a legitimate answer at the QB position rather than a blank slate.

10. Texas Tech Red Raiders

Brendan Sorsby isn't on the roster, which changes the calculus some, but Texas Tech still averaged 39.4 points per game a year ago and shouldn't fall off a cliff. Tulsa transfer Kirk Francis brings starting experience after throwing for 3,045 yards and 18 touchdowns in 18 career games, while Will Hammond is also back after throwing for 680 yards and seven touchdowns in eight games last season. Whoever wins the job will hand off to a backfield of Cameron Dickey and J'Koby Williams that combined for nearly 2,000 yards last season.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow