Why the College Football Playoffs don't run through Miami after incredible start to 2026

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Miami football team has accomplished nearly everything it could have hoped for in the first three games of the 2026 season. The Hurricanes began with a dominant 45-6 road victory over Stanford, followed by a staggering 77-7 win against Florida A&M. They then endured their first real challenge of the season, securing a 33-20 win at Wake Forest. Quarterback Darian Mensah has quickly adapted to the offense, and under head coach Mario Cristobal, the team has climbed to No. 5 in the national rankings, entering the championship conversation without a prolonged period to replace several key players from last year’s runner-up squad.

However, despite this early success, it is still premature to declare that the road to the College Football Playoff runs through Miami. This observation is not meant as a criticism of the Hurricanes’ achievements; after all, a 3-0 start with two victories on the road deserves recognition, especially when Mensah has completed an impressive 71 of 79 passes with 11 touchdowns and no interceptions. Miami appears to be more balanced this season, as their defense has controlled several stretches of games, while the offense has demonstrated enough explosiveness to capitalize on successful drives.

The caution comes from examining what Miami has been tested on thus far. Stanford and Florida A&M provided minimal resistance, and Wake Forest was the first team to introduce adversity that revealed some flaws behind the impressive early-season statistics. The Hurricanes built a 31-7 lead against Wake Forest and seemed ready to secure another easy win, but the offense faltered significantly in the second half, resulting in four consecutive three-and-outs. This allowed Wake Forest to narrow the gap and turned a game that should have been comfortably won into an unexpectedly tense battle.

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Miami football team ultimately managed to navigate this challenge, and good teams deserve credit for finding ways to win even when their best football is only on display intermittently. Nevertheless, the second half served as a reminder that the Hurricanes are not yet an unstoppable force. While Mensah’s accuracy has been remarkable, Miami will eventually face defenses that can disrupt their timing, generate pressure without sending extra rushers, and force him to deal with more complex coverage looks than he has encountered in September.

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The upcoming schedule will provide those answers, which is another reason to avoid rushing to conclusions. Miami still has road games against Clemson and Notre Dame, in addition to facing Florida State, Pittsburgh, North Carolina, and Duke. These remaining matches will offer plenty of opportunities to transform their impressive start into a resume that genuinely warrants consideration among the nation’s top championship contenders.

Notre Dame, in particular, should provide us with more insight than anything Miami has done over the first three weeks of the season. Going into South Bend and controlling a high-caliber opponent would carry significantly more weight than scoring 77 points against Florida A&M. The upcoming games against Clemson and Florida State will test whether Miami can consistently handle opponents with the athleticism needed to challenge its offensive line and secondary. Additionally, there’s a broader issue with declaring that the playoff runs through any one team this early in the season. Miami is sharing the national stage with programs like Texas, Georgia, Notre Dame, and Indiana, all of which entered the season with legitimate championship aspirations, and while Miami has shown enough to belong in that conversation, being part of the discussion is different from becoming the team that everyone else needs to overcome.

What makes the Hurricanes particularly interesting is that they may eventually earn that distinction. Mensah has provided the offense with a level of stability that could have taken months to develop following Carson Beck’s departure. Malachi Toney remains one of the most dangerous receiving threats in the nation, and Coach Cristobal has built enough depth within the team so that Miami can win in various ways, rather than relying solely on quarterback heroics.

Friday night’s game also had value precisely because things didn’t go perfectly. Miami had to handle a momentum swing on the road and find a way to finish the game without their offense performing at the level it had earlier, and such situations will be serious later in the season. The next step is demonstrating that the second-half stagnation against Wake Forest was an isolated incident and not something that better defenses can replicate.

Miami appears to be a legitimate playoff team and possibly a true national championship contender, but three games against this level of competition are not sufficient for the entire postseason narrative to revolve around Coral Gables. If the Hurricanes continue to win as the schedule becomes more challenging, that conversation could change quickly. By November, there may be a much stronger case that Miami has become one of the teams shaping the playoff picture rather than just participating in it.

For now, the Hurricanes have gained national attention, but they do not yet own a place in the College Football Playoff.

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