Coming off a national championship appearance, Mario Cristobal reloads with star transfer Darian Mensah and an elite receiving corps to defend Miami’s dominance over rival Florida State.
It is one of the most storied rivalries in college football: Miami vs. Florida State.
What began in 1951 as a football game has become an annual street fight. It is a matchup like no other, one with numerous top ten battles. Miami holds a 37-33 record over Florida State in the series history. The Seminoles vs. the Hurricanes is must watch football on the grandest stage.
It is also a rivalry that featured dramatic plays and finishes, from wide right to wide left, and also the “hit.”
Over the past two seasons under Mike Norvell, Florida State has come up short against Miami. As the national runner-up in 2025, Miami was the state champion of Florida, beating Bethune-Cookman, USF, Florida and Florida State in consecutive weeks.
The Hurricanes also defeated three top ten opponents during their playoff run. The Hurricanes beat No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 5 Ohio State, and No. 3 Ole Miss to reach the national championship game before finally losing to No. 1 Indiana.
Miami has lost some talent from last year’s squad, most notably quarterback Carson Beck, defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr., and offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa. But they will feature some elite talent in 2026, especially on offense.
Duke transfer Darian Mensah will be Mario Cristobal’s new quarterback. Mensah quarterbacked the Blue Devils to an ACC championship last season by throwing for over 3,900 yards, 34 touchdowns and only six interceptions on 500 pass attempts. Mensah was named second-team All-ACC.
He posted six games of 300-yards passing, and six games with three or more TD passes, including two games with four TD passes. There was some controversy as to how Mensah ended up at Miami, but he is a high-quality quarterback who can help the Hurricanes pick up where they left off last season.
Mensah will be throwing to talented receivers in Malachi Toney and Cooper Barkate. Barkate (Mensah’s teammate at Duke) led the Blue Devils with over 1,100 yards and seven touchdowns on 72 catches, with an average of 15 yards per catch. Barkate was a second-team All-ACC selection.
As a true freshman, Toney hauled in 109 catches for over 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns, and was selected as first-team All-ACC. He posted three games of over 100 yards receiving, including 10 catches for 122 yards and a score in the loss to Indiana.
Running the football again will fall on the broad shoulders of Mark Fletcher. Fletcher led the ACC in rushing with almost 1,200 yards, and he scored 12 touchdowns, and he earned third-team All-ACC honors. In addition, Fletcher posted six games of 100-yards rushing and four games with multiple rushing touchdowns.
On defense, the Hurricanes will bring back significant talent, including:
- LB Mohamed Toure: team-leading 84 tackles in 2025
- DB Zechariah Poyser: 68 tackles
- DB Xaiver Lucas: 45 tackles, one INT
- DB Bryce Fitzgerald: 16 tackles, six INTs as a freshman
- DL Justin Scott: 26 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, one sack
- DL Ahmad Moten: 31 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks
The Miami game on October 17 is part of a challenging two-game road trip that includes Louisville the week before. The Hurricanes have won six of the last 10 meetings, and three of the last four at home against the Seminoles.
Miami will be favored to win the ACC this year, and a Florida State victory over their hated rival would be a momentum-changer to set the tone for the rest of the season. Not to mention, possibly save Norvell’s job.
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