A season that starts where the last one ended
Miami went 13-3 last season and lost the national championship game to Indiana in January. Seven months later the Hurricanes are ranked seventh and open their 2026 campaign on Friday night at Stanford, in what doubles as the ACC opener for both teams.
The gap between them is supposed to be enormous. Miami is the preseason favourite to win the conference. Stanford was picked to finish last in the ACC media poll. Miami is favoured by more than three touchdowns.
Mario Cristobal is not treating it that way.
“This game had our attention since January,” the Miami coach said Monday. “We knew we had an opportunity to put our very best team against an excellent opponent. You see a lot of NFL influences in the schemes that they run.”
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Stanford already have a game in the bank
The Cardinal come in 1-0 after a 37-27 home win over Hawaii, though the scoreline flatters them. Stanford led 23-7 and then let it go entirely, conceding 233 of Hawaii’s 322 total yards across three late scoring drives before two touchdowns in the final two minutes rescued the night.
Tavita Pritchard is running his first season in charge, a former Stanford quarterback who spent the past three years coaching quarterbacks for the Washington Commanders. His debut produced 99 rushing yards and three touchdowns from Micah Ford, who scored four times on the ground in the whole of last season, and 310 passing yards from Michigan transfer Davis Warren.
“It is about us and about what we do, but at the same time, you can’t lose sight of the talent that’s across the ball from you,” Pritchard said.
What Miami bring to Palo Alto
The talent is the point. Mark Fletcher Jr. ran for 106 yards and three touchdowns when these teams met for the first time last October, a 42-7 Miami win that sat between the Hurricanes’ only two regular-season defeats, to Louisville and SMU. Fletcher is back. So is sophomore receiver Malachi Toney, already in early Heisman conversations, and Duke transfer quarterback Darian Mensah, who led the ACC in passing yards and passing touchdowns last year.
The defence lost Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor to the NFL, which matters up front, but Ahmad Moten Sr., Damon Wilson II, cornerback Xavier Lucas and safety Bryce Fitzgerald all return.
This will be Miami’s first trip to Stanford. Anything other than a comfortable evening would be a story in itself.
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