Miami Football 2026 Schedule: Full Breakdown and Season Outlook

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Does Miami have the schedule to make another push for the national championship?

Yeah, the Hurricanes came this close to winning it all, but along the way, they lost to Louisville and SMU. This year’s schedule should be far tougher.

Breaking Down Miami’s 2026 Football Schedule

Jan 19, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal against the Indiana Hoosiers during the College Football Playoff National Championship game at Hard Rock Stadium. © Mark J&period; Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Good

There might be plenty of tough games, but five of the last seven games are in Hard Rock, and Miami should be the favorite in each of the first five games.

As long as the focus is there, there’s nothing this team shouldn’t be able to handle, but …

The Bad

The schedule is super-quirky.

Starting the season in Palo Alto against Stanford isn’t bad – get the long trip out of the way immediately. The second ACC game is on the road at Wake Forest, and the third conference battle is at Clemson.

Again, yeah, most of the remaining games are at home, but back-to-back dates at North Carolina and Notre Dame will be a fight.

What ACC Teams Miami Will Miss

Cal, Georgia Tech, Louisville, NC State, SMU, Syracuse, Virginia.

Clemson might not be Clemson anymore, but you’d like to miss it, and Miami doesn’t. On the positive side, the two teams it lost to before the national title – Louisville and SMU – aren’t on the schedule.

Miami’s Best and Worst Case Scenarios in 2026

Best Case: The Hurricanes rumble through this

Yeah, the trip to Notre Dame might be too much, but there’s nothing else to really worry about.

Again, Clemson has lost its mojo, Florida State is a home game, and outside of those two games – and the trip to South Bend, there’s no breaking a sweat against anyone else.

Worst Case: There’s a strange slip early

Strange things happen when ACC teams make the trip to the Bay Area. Stanford becomes more of a fight than expected, and Wake Forest comes up with something funky in the next ACC game.

The loss to Notre Dame is the third defeat of the season.

Miami Football 2026 Schedule

Sept 4 at Stanford
Sept 10 Florida A&M
Sept 18 at Wake Forest
Sept 26 Central Michigan
Oct 3 at Clemson
Oct 10 OPEN DATE
Oct 17 Florida State
Oct 24 Pitt
Oct 31 at North Carolina
Nov 7 at Notre Dame
Nov 14 Duke
Nov 20 Virginia Tech
Nov 28 Boston College

Games That Will Decide Miami’s Season

1. at Notre Dame, Nov. 7
It’s the win that got the Hurricanes into the College Football Playoff last year, and it would do the same thing again this year.

2. at Clemson, Oct. 3
Forget all the disrespect, it’s still Clemson, and this will be the game it looks to as the moment everything turns around.

3. at Wake Forest, Sept. 18
BE CAREFUL. Sure, the Florida State game might be bigger, and the date at North Carolina will get more hype, but this is one of those early road games that no one will think much about, but will be extremely dangerous.

This story was originally published by College Football News on Jan 27, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add College Football News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos