Miami’s Top 10 Rivals in the Year 2026

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What makes a rival? A rival is a team that you see on the schedule and circle that date with a thick, red marker. It stands out from the rest of the schedule. It’s a team that you feel a connection with beyond the average team. It has history, usually on the field but sometimes off the field. It feels just a little bit sweeter to troll that opposing fan base after a big win.

Rivalries develop, and rivalries wane, especially over the past 30 years of conference realignment. In the 80s and early 90s, Penn State would had been considered a Miami rival. They were both strong teams frequently playing for high stakes, including the 1987 Fiesta Bowl. But the Hurricanes and Nittany Lions have not squared off in 25 years, and other than Manny Diaz briefly serving as James Franklin’s defensive coordinator, there’s really no other connection between the two programs. By contrast, there’s quite a few ACC foes that Miami hardly played until they joined the conference in 2004, but you would now consider to be rivals.

So in the year of our Lord, 2026, what games do Hurricanes fans get most excited to see? What contests produce the most discussion, the most storylines, and the most banter on social media and fan message boards? Which contests will the players celebrate just a little bit extra after a win?

Before jumping into Miami’s top ten rivals as of this moment, here are ten honorable mentions (listed in alphabetical order, not necessarily 11-20):

Honorable Mentions

• Duke – Manny Diaz temporarily ties these two programs together (for now, he’ll eventually leave like every other successful Duke coach), and there have been a few memorable moments in the series (like the 2015 eight lateral miracle), but the series has been too lopsided to make the top 10 list (Miami is 15-4 against the Dukies since joining the ACC).
• FIU – Mario Cristobal’s first head coaching gig is the closest FBS school to Miami, but the teams have only played each other 4 times in their entire history. While there have been some notable moments like the 2007 brawl and the 2019 disaster at Marlins Park, the infrequency of this game and minimal recent ties between the programs (Butch Davis left in 2021) keeps it from making the Top 10.
• Indiana – Miami and Indiana will be forever linked by last year’s national championship, but that was the first time the programs played each other since the 1960’s. One game, no matter how big, does not make for a top rivalry.
• Nebraska – 20 years ago this would had easily made the top 10 list, but the national championship battles between 1983 and 2001 are a distant memory for these programs.
• Oregon – Miami and Oregon have only played once – in 1958 – but because Cristobal spurned the Ducks, should these teams ever matchup expect an explosive environment. The potential for a heated rivalry is worth an honorable mention.
• Pittsburgh – Miami and Pittsburgh have faced off 43 times – third most of any Miami opponent behind Florida and Florida State (more than Virginia Tech’s 42 times) – but this is another one of those lopsided histories, and the teams have rarely played for anything meaningful (Pitt may have cost Miami a CFP bid in 2017, but playing spoiler once serves as the exception not the rule). Since 1984, the one-sided series is 23-4 in favor of Miami.
• Syracuse – Despite being in the same conference, these teams have only faced each other three times since 2003, and only twice this decade. Still, the matchups have been more memorable than the program histories would suggest, such as when Syracuse prevented Cam Ward from making a playoffs appearance.
• Texas A&M – The Aggies have popped up on Miami’s schedule a few times, with home-and-home’s scheduled in 2007/2008 and 2022/2023. The teams also played in the CFP last year. Not quite enough juice to make for a top rivalry, but worthy of a mention.
• USF – This lopsided rivalry is 7-1 in Miami’s favor, mostly blowouts by the Hurricanes. But that’s more matchups than with FIU, plus these Bulls fans are some of the most vocal on social media. It’s fun to beat USF. Not top 10 most fun, but fun.
• Wisconsin – Three bowl games and three wins for the Badgers this century, including the 2017 Orange Bowl, is more a coincidence than a rivalry, but Wisconsin’s NIL lawsuit over Xavier Lucas bumps this into an honorable mention.

No. 10 Rivalry – SMU

Last year was the first time this game was played since the 1960’s, but the programs are so intertwined that this rivalry just sneaks into the top 10. Head Coach Rhett Lashlee was Miami’s offensive coordinator from 2020-2021, and his offense was one of the few bright spots of the Manny Diaz era. When Lashlee took the head coaching job at SMU, there was a wave of former Hurricanes that went to SMU. Players like Brashard Smith, Tyler Van Dyke, Chris Johnson Jr., Jared Harrison-Hunte, Jakai Clark, Zion Nelson, Jaylan Knighton, Jahfari Harvey, and Romello Brinson all transferred from Miami to SMU. Also, former Miami Hurricanes signal caller D’Eriq King is the SMU quarterbacks coach. SMU is practically Miami-West. Even though the teams have rarely played one another, these programs have a stronger connection than most of Miami’s other rivals.

No. 9 Rivalry – Clemson

Since joining the ACC, these teams have only faced each other 10 times, but each time they’ve played the match held high stakes and felt like a referendum on both programs. This is one of the few rivalries that more often than not at least one of the teams is a top 10 team when they play. Clemson’s 58-0 blowout in 2015 sent Al Golden packing, and the 38-3 blowout in the 2017 ACC Championship Game reminded Miami fans that they weren’t quite ‘back’ just yet. But last weekend, Miami finally returned the favor to Dabo Swinney and delivered a historic blowout at Clemson, effectively passing the torch from Clemson to Miami as the ACC’s flagship football program.

No. 8 Rivalry – Georgia Tech

Now this is a competitive series (Georgia Tech leads all-time 15-14) that is regularly played and has had its share of memorable moments (like the Don Chaney fumble, instead of kneel, in 2023). Regardless which team wins, the games have been quite competitive especially recently. Beginning with Miami’s walk-off field goal in 2017, six out of seven of the most recent matches have been one-score games. Miami fans always expect a fight against Georgia Tech, and Georgia Tech has irritatingly gotten the better of Miami too often.

No. 7 Rivalry – North Carolina

What a pain in the side North Carolina has been for Miami. Believe it or not, Miami is on a 5 game losing streak against North Carolina dating back to 2019, and North Carolina leads the all-time series 14-11. North Carolina hiring former Miami HC Butch Davis from 2007-2010 poured gas on this rivalry for a few years. This rivalry has a very similar feel to the Georgia Tech rivalry, but the brief Butch Davis connection pushes the Tarheels just ahead of the Yellow Jackets on teams that Hurricanes fans enjoy beating.

No. 6 Rivalry – Virginia Tech

15 years ago this would had been a top 3 rivalry for the Hurricanes, but both teams have fallen off and the stakes are not quite as high as they used to be. The Hokies and Hurricanes rivalry stretches back well into the 90’s when both programs were in the Big East, and then the two programs moved to the ACC together in 2004. Back then, both teams were always ranked, and often times one or both were in the top 10. Though the days of Beamer Ball are long gone, this game still holds historical significance for both programs.

No. 5 Rivalry – Ohio State

When “The U Part 2” documentary dedicates a large swath of its story to a single game, that opponent becomes long entrenched as a top 5 villain program for Miami. 24 years later, beating Ohio State in the CFP was the first time Miami fans truly felt like the program was ‘back’ because it exorcised the ghosts of that Fiesta Bowl game. Should Miami ever move to the Big Ten, or keep meeting Ohio State in the playoffs, this could very easily become a top 1 or 2 rivalry for the Hurricanes.

No. 4 Rivalry – Louisville

Miami shares former coaches with several other rivals (Mario Cristobal with FIU, Butch Davis with FIU and UNC, Manny Diaz with Duke, Rhett Lashlee with SMU, etc.) but THIS is the only such rivalry game with a trophy. Howard Schnellenberger launched Miami as a national powerhouse but then left to be the head coach at his hometown Louisville from 1985 to 1994. Schnellenberger never had the same success at Louisville – his record at Louisville was 54-56-2 compared to 41-16 at Miami – but his legacy amongst both programs was memorialized in 2023 when the winner was awarded the Schnellenberger Trophy. The series has also been quite competitive. Louisville leads Miami 5-4 and there have been several notable games, including last year’s upset at Hard Rock Stadium. Miami fans know that this is a big, big game.

No. 3 Rivalry – Florida

Miami has played Florida 58 times, the second most of any other rival, and leads the all-time series 31-27. The Hurricanes and the Gators faced off every year from 1938 to 1987, but the Gators dropped Miami from their schedule when the SEC increased the number of conference games from 6 to 7. Since then, the teams have matched up only 9 times since. Miami is 7-2 against the Gators this century, including Sugar Bowl and Peach Bowl victories in 2001 and 2004, respectively. It’s a shame these teams don’t play regularly anymore, but when they do it’s still a top game for each team that season.

No. 2 Rivalry – Florida State

Arguably, no rivalry in all of America has more ‘moments’ or national championship affecting matchups than Miami v. Florida State. Remember FSU going for two and losing (1987), Wide Right I (1991), Wide Right II (1992), Wide Right III (2000), Wide Left I (2002), and Malik Rosier’s rally and back should throw snapping a 7 game losing streak (2017). Six times both programs were ranked in the Top 5 on gameday. Countless future hall-of-famers played in this annual matchup. Even when both programs are down, the TV ratings are still pretty darn good. The only thing keeping this rivalry from the top spot is the lack of recent, high-stakes matches. In the past 20 years, only 4 games featured both teams as top 10 teams. Only once, in 2013, were both teams ranked in the top ten. So the wins are not quite as big as they were in the 80’s and 90’s and early 2000’s.

No. 1 Rivalry – Notre Dame

Most of the aforementioned rivalries get plenty of coverage in Miami documentaries. But, the “Catholics vs. Convicts” rivalry was its own documentary. With little argument, the most electric Hard Rock Stadium has ever felt was during the 2017 Notre Dame beatdown. Last year’s matchup had the sixth highest TV ratings amongst regular season games, and this year’s primetime matchup on NBC is sure to be high too. Florida and Florida State are in-state and play Miami more often, but both those teams are on a down-swing in national relevance. Also, Miami is presently scheduled to play Notre Dame about every other year on the go-forward (2026, 2028, 2031, 2032, and 2034 are scheduled) so it’s not like we’ll have to wait years between games like often is the case with Florida. In 2026, Miami fans are most looking forward to this game, more so than Florida State. In 2026, Notre Dame is Miami’s top rival.

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