Miami football ranks high in USA TODAY too-early Top 25. See the list

It's never too early to get hyped for the next college football season, especially if you're a fan of the Miami Hurricanes and your team came 50 yards shy of winning the national championship the previous year.

The Canes wrapped up spring practice April 18 with its annual spring game at Cobb Stadium that served as the first showcase of Darian Mensah, the team's latest veteran quarterback addition from the transfer portal. The former Tulane and Duke product has big shoes to fill entering the season after Cam Ward broke program records en route to becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft and Carson Beck led UM back to prominence with an appearance in the College Football Playoff title game.

Several team leaders from that squad have left for the NFL, including three first-round draft picks in standout offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa and terrorizing edge rushers Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor. Nevertheless, Miami expects to play for a championship again in 2026, and USA TODAY's "Too-Early Top 25" has the Hurricanes as the No. 6 team in the country after most teams' spring practices have concluded.

UM's success this season will hinge on how well the new pieces on offense, especially an offensive line that will need to replace four of its five starters, will mesh around punishing running back Mark Fletcher and do-everything receiver Malachi Toney, who set program records with a nation-leading 109 catches for 1,211 yards and 10 touchdowns as a freshman. They'll also need to replace Bain, Mesidor and others on a defense that ranked fifth in scoring, 12th in yards allowed and first in sacks.

"There was some uncertainty and legal wrangling, but Miami was able to continue its turnstile at quarterback with the addition of Duke transfer Darian Mensah, who finished spring practice with a flourish," wrote Erick Smith and Paul Myerberg in explaining their ranking. "Cooper Barkate, his leading receiver with the Blue Devils, has also integrated well and should pair nicely with Malachi Toney. There are significant losses on defense. Optimism comes from the arrivals of Jarquez Carter (Ohio State) and Damon Wilson (Missouri) along the front line and safety Omar Thornton (Boston College) in the secondary." 

The too-early top-25 is led by two teams Miami beat in 2025, Ohio State and Notre Dame. The Hurricanes will get their chance to repeat last year's season-opening win over the Fighting Irish when they visit South Bend in a must-see showdown Nov. 7. Defending champion Indiana is ranked No. 5, one spot ahead of UM.

Miami faces two other teams in the too-early rankings, traveling to Clemson to start October and hosting Florida State two weeks later (yes, Smith and Myerberg have FSU, which finished 5-7 in its second straight disastrous season, pegged at No. 22 after spring practices).

College football top-25 rankings

Here are the too-early rankings after spring practices as put together by Erick Smith and Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY. Each team is listed with their record from the 2025 season. Teams that made the College Football Playoff last season are marked with an asterisk.

1. Ohio State (12-2)*
2. Notre Dame (10-2)
3. Texas (10-3)
4. Georgia (12-2)*
5. Indiana (16-0)*
6. Miami (13-3)*
7. Oklahoma (10-3)*
8. Oregon (13-2)*
9. Ole Miss (13-2)*
10. USC (9-4)
11. Texas A&M (11-2)
12. Alabama (11-4)*
13. Michigan (9-4)
14. BYU (12-2)
15. Texas Tech (12-2)
16. Penn State (7-6)
17. LSU (7-6)
18. SMU (9-4)
19. Utah (11-2)
20. Tennessee (8-5)
21. Iowa (9-4)
22. Florida State (5-7)
23. Houston (10-3)
24. Clemson (7-6)
25. Boise State (9-5)

Miami football schedule 2026

• Friday, Sept. 4: at Stanford*
• Thursday, Sept. 10: vs. Florida A&M
• Friday, Sept. 18: at Wake Forest*
• Saturday, Sept. 26: vs. Central Michigan
• Saturday, Oct. 3: at Clemson*
• Saturday, Oct. 10: Open
• Saturday, Oct. 17: vs. Florida State*
• Saturday, Oct. 24: vs. Pittsburgh*
• Saturday, Oct. 31: at North Carolina*
• Saturday, Nov. 7: at Notre Dame
• Saturday, Nov. 14: vs. Duke*
• Friday, Nov. 20: vs. Virginia Tech*
• Saturday, Nov. 28: vs. Boston College*

*- ACC game

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Hurricanes football among 2026 contenders in too-early Top 25