The Miami Hurricanes are done with the ACC's high school-level scheduling, and we're all thankful it's behind us. This week Miami will host Central Michigan at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday. It's the Hurricanes' first Saturday game of the season.
Miami is the only team in the country that hasn't played a game on Saturday yet. The Hurricanes have played road games against Stanford and Wake Forest on Friday and hosted Florida A&M on Thursday.
"Who's responsible for that? Anybody in this room? Nobody," Mario Cristobal said.
Coach Cristobal on Miami's ridiculous September ACC schedule: "Who is responsible for that?" pic.twitter.com/TmpEBR9kkt
— CanesHQ (@CanesHq) September 21, 2026
Cristobal has made no secret of his desire to see all college football games on Saturday, but he's also proud of the way his team has handled this adversity through the first three games of the season.
"As it relates to my own kids at home or our players here, whatever's thrown at you, just roll with it, man," he added. "The worst thing I can do is publicly go out and just start bashing away . . . No, whatever comes with it, whatever place, whatever opponent, whatever time. Let's go roll, right? Let's go do it.
Mario Cristobal is happy for Miami to start its Saturday schedule
Cristobal knows exactly who's responsible for this. It's the ACC and its awful job of marketing teams. The conference is stuck in a relationship with Disney (ABC/ESPN) where they are treated like bottom feeders or the Power 4. The Big XII, which has TV contracts with Disney and FOX, is at least treated with respect by the latter. That network sent their pregame show to London for an Arizona State vs. Kansas matchup. Like who cares about Arizona State or Kansas?
But Disney doesn't even pretend to acknowledge the ACC's existence, even with a top program like Miami representing it. SMU vs. Louisville was a great Week 34 game between the top teams ranked in the top-20, and it got shuttered on ESPN2 in the 3:30 slot.
So Miami, regardless of where they are ranked, sit on the outside looking in when it comes to TV coverage. The Hurricanes bring ratings, there's full proof of that, and Disney doesn't want a program that draws eyes, like Miami, to compete with their beloved Mississippi State/South Carolina matchup on Saturdays, because the network is paying $3 billion for that contract and has to prop up every team in the SEC.
This has come at the expense of every team in the ACC, but especially Miami, which hasn't been afforded the opportunity to showcase itself on college football's preferred days. Disney probably thinks this affects the Hurricanes' brand, but they would be wrong and the recently-announced apparel deal with NIKE proves it.
Miami games will appear on Saturdays for the next few months and that's where the Hurricanes should be. We know the Hurricanes still won't get the TV coverage they deserve, but at least they will play on the day that the rest of the college football world celebrates.
Add us as a preferred source on Google