Fueled by Darian Mensah’s record-breaking precision and a dominant blowout victory, the undefeated Miami Hurricanes soar to their highest ranking yet.
MIAMI, Fla. – The Miami Hurricanes returned to the top five in the latest edition of the Associated Press’ Top 25 poll – slated at No. 4.
It’s the team’s highest ranking of the 2026 college football season thus far, surpassing Week 2’s No. 5 ranking.
The Hurricanes are coming off a dominant 52-3 win over Central Michigan on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium. After trailing by three early in the first quarter, the offense scored on seven red zone trips – six touchdowns and one field goal. The Hurricanes’ defense held Central Michigan scoreless for the rest of the game.
Quarterback Darian Mensah continues to make history. He completed 23 of 27 passes (85.2 percent) and threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns, plus rushed in for a touchdown. Mensah has 14 passing touchdowns and 12 incompletions on the season thus far. He’s the first Football Bowl Subdivision passer to do so in the first four games, according to CBS Sports.
In last week’s poll, Indiana and Ole Miss were ranked ahead of the Hurricanes, but dipped; both are still in the top 10. The No. 6 Hoosier trickle down a spot, coming off a 29-23 win over Northwestern. Given that the Wildcats were unranked, the game was kept close, devaluing the quality. Although the Hoosiers never trailed, the defense allowed 16 fourth-quarter points prior to having a 12-point lead at halftime.
No. 9 Ole Miss fell five spots coming off a 52-28 loss against Florida, who entered the matchup ranked for the first time this season at No. 21. The Gators scored seven touchdowns as junior star running back Jadan Baugh led with three, finishing with 142 yards on 29 carries. The Rebels were coming off a 32-24 win over Lane Kiffin and LSU, but the revenge momentum didn’t travel to Gainesville (Fla.).
Between the Hurricanes and Hoosiers at No. 5 is Ohio State. The Buckeyes won 42-19 over Illinois. Quarterback Julian Sayin connected with star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith on all four passing touchdowns. Sophomore running back Ja’Kobi Jackson was the only other Buckeyes playmaker to score, finishing with 56 yards on 10 carries.
After starting the season 4-0 (ACC 2-0), the level of competition rises on the Hurricanes’ schedule. The next seven of eight games will count towards the conference standings, plus a non-conference primetime matchup against No. 3 Notre Dame at South Bend, Indiana. The Hurricanes’ journey to returning to the College Football Playoffs will begin to ramp up, starting next Saturday at South Carolina against Clemson.
Anthony Aguirre covers the Miami Hurricanes and Miami Heat for Roundtable Sports. Contact info for tips/info: [email protected] & 305-987-3290 | Follow on Instagram/X: @AnthonyA_Sports
