Less than a month ago, Miami Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal told ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit and Joey Galloway that if he could change one thing about college football, he'd get rid of Thursday and Friday games because "college football is for Saturday."
Now, Miami's newly released slate includes four non-Saturday games, including three Fridays and one Thursday.
Hurricanes schedule release reminded me of when Mario Cristobal was asked about things he would change in college football. He said eliminate Thursday/Friday games. Canes have 1 game on a Thursday, 3 on Friday. pic.twitter.com/juODu8fpXz
— Giselle Espinales (@GiselleSports) January 27, 2026
Miami's 2026 schedule dropped Monday night
Cristobal’s comments came on the Nonstop podcast with Herbstreit and Galloway, when he was asked what he'd change about the sport.
"For me, one of the top things, it's minor in the eyes of many, I would eliminate Thursday and Friday games, man. College football is for Saturday... That drives me bananas."Mario Cristobal
Fast forward to the ACC's schedule release Monday, and Miami got exactly what Cristobal did not want.
The Hurricanes open Friday, Sept. 4 at Stanford in Palo Alto, California. They return to Hard Rock Stadium for a Thursday, Sept. 10 home game against Florida A&M in Miami Gardens, then go back on the road for Friday, Sept. 18 at Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Later, Miami hosts Virginia Tech on Friday, Nov. 20, before closing the regular season at home against Boston College on Saturday, Nov. 28.
That’s a full third of the regular season happening on days that are not Saturday. And it comes in the form of a cross-country trip to Stanford on a Friday, a six-day turnaround into a Thursday home game, then another Friday road game a week later.
None of this is specific to Miami, of course. Weeknight college football is driven by TV windows and conferences want standalone stages. Networks want programming that carries the sport beyond one day. And the ACC is clearly leaning into that with Friday exposure.
Mark your calendars! 🗓️
— Miami Hurricanes Football (@CanesFootball) January 26, 2026
The 2026 @canesfootball schedule is here 🙌 pic.twitter.com/e0wwXbHJFP
2026 Miami Hurricanes schedule
- Fri., Sept. 4: at Stanford
- Thu., Sept. 10: Florida A&M
- Fri., Sept. 18: at Wake Forest
- Sat., Sept. 26: Central Michigan
- Sat., Oct. 3: at Clemson
- Sat., Oct. 17: Florida State
- Sat., Oct. 24: Pittsburgh
- Sat., Oct. 31: at North Carolina
- Sat., Nov. 7: at Notre Dame
- Sat., Nov. 14: Duke
- Fri., Nov. 20: Virginia Tech
- Sat., Nov. 28: Boston College