Miami Hurricanes receive another underwhelming preseason top 25 ranking

On3 released its preseason top 25 on Tuesday, a staff poll of 11 college football writers, and Miami came in at No. 7. The Hurricanes were one of six programs to receive a first-place vote, with Jake Crain putting Miami at the top of his ballot. Texas led the field with four first-place votes and Oregon had three, with Georgia, Indiana and Notre Dame collecting one apiece.

Ohio State finished No. 1 anyway, without a single first-place vote, on the strength of appearing high on every ballot. Thirty-seven schools received votes overall.

Miami lands No. 7 in On3's preseason top 25

Only one other ACC team made the top 25: SMU at 19. Clemson and Virginia Tech appear among the schools receiving votes, and Florida State does not appear at all.

But while Miami is viewed as the overwhelming ACC favorite, No. 7 feels like the lowest possible option among the national heavyweights. And this isn't to say teams like Ohio State, Oregon and Texas don't deserve to be ranked in the top five. It just feels as though Miami is really being undervalued — for whatever reason — as we enter 2026.

How On3's top 25 compares to the Coaches Poll

Eight teams sit in identical positions: Ohio State first, Oregon second, Notre Dame fifth, Indiana sixth, Miami seventh, BYU 15th, Michigan 16th and Utah 21st. No team in both polls moved more than three spots. Alabama is the largest gap at 11th with the coaches and 14th with On3. Georgia and Texas swap third and fourth. Texas A&M is eighth with the coaches and 10th with On3, which pushes Oklahoma and Ole Miss down a spot each.

The conference breakdown is also identical: nine SEC teams, eight Big Ten, four Big 12, three ACC and Notre Dame.

Only two teams differ between the two lists. The coaches included Clemson at No. 23 and Missouri at No. 25. On3 went with Louisville 22nd and Florida 25th, leaving both Clemson and Missouri among others receiving votes.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow