The Miami Hurricanes have a huge Week 1 opener in college football, hosting the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a battle of top-10 teams.
Many are pegging the No. 6 Irish to once again make the College Football Playoff, if not compete for the national championship like they did last year.
But what about the No. 10 Hurricanes?
Former Miami wide receiver legend Michael Irvin recently asked head coach Mario Cristobal on his podcast if he believed this year’s team was good enough to win a national championship.
“This team is limitless. It is,” Cristobal responded. “The expectation here for us, we all came here to win not one but multiple championships. But we don’t get in the mode of bragging or boasting about what we’re going to do. We’re more focused on how we’re going to prepare to accomplish our goals. That’s the difference.”
Cristobal led Miami to its best season since 2017 a year ago. The Hurricanes began the season 9-0 before an upset loss to Georgia Tech, then again two weeks later to Syracuse, which ultimately dismantled their ACC Championship and playoff hopes.
Miami led the country for much of the season in offense, mostly thanks to Cam Ward, who ended up becoming the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Ultimately, though, it was the team’s poor defense that decided their fate.
Cristobal is trying to fix that this season, bringing in not only several new transfers but also restructuring almost the entire defensive coaching staff, starting with coordinator Corey Hetherman from Minnesota.
If these changes work, Miami will hope to compete for its sixth national championship, and its first since 2001. The Hurricanes last reached the title game the following year in the BCS Championship, where they fell to Ohio State.