Where Miami Football Ranks After Electric Season Opener Against Stanford
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Week one is done, and new polls are out for the college football season. The Miami Hurricanes entered the 2026 season as the preseason ranked No. 7 team in the country.
They traveled over 3000 miles to take on Stanford in their season opener and dominated from kickoff, with an electric performance from Malachi Toney and Darian Mensah.
Even if both players have a strong early case for Heisman favorites, as a team, others around the country still want to see more from the Canes.
After week one, the Canes remain the No. 7 team in the country. They remain the highest-ranked team in the ACC. No changes, and likely no more changes, until they play Wake Forest in week three.
Moreover, the Hurricanes are focused on week two for their home opener against Florida A&M.
"I mean, there's nothing like playing in front of your people here in Miami, right? And our players, as time has gone on here, the amount of pride that has been built, that has been just appreciated here, is our hometown," Head coach Mario Cristobal said ahead of home opener.
"Our people, our community, and the way Hard Rock gets going. It means the world to our guys when they come out to tell them that place is going bananas. And that's what we want every single week. Push the game back, I believe, till 8 o'clock, right? Game time, so that allows all these supervisors and bosses around Dade and Broward County to allow your employees to make it to Hard Rock on time, so that we can have the appropriate atmosphere.
"We love that we have an opportunity to bring energy and enthusiasm to the community. That means a lot to us. Like the city of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, all of South Florida, Palm Beach, the entire state, waking up, fired up, knowing that the Canes are going to go out there and do their very best for them."
2026 US LBM Coaches Poll - Week 1
Rank | Team | Record | First-Place Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
1. | Ohio State | 1-0 | 50 |
2. | Georgia | 1-0 | 7 |
3. | Texas | 1-0 | 1 |
4. | Notre Dame | 1-0 | 4 |
5. | Indiana | 1-0 | 11 |
6. | Oregon | 1-0 | 1 |
7. | Miami | 1-0 | 0 |
8. | LSU | 1-0 | 0 |
9. | Texas A&M | 1-0 | 0 |
10. | Oklahoma | 1-0 | 0 |
11. | Ole Miss | 1-0 | 0 |
12. | Alabama | 1-0 | 0 |
13. | Texas Tech | 1-0 | 0 |
14. | USC | 2-0 | 0 |
15. | BYU | 1-0 | 0 |
16. | Penn State | 1-0 | 0 |
17. | SMU | 1-0 | 0 |
18. | Tennesee | 1-0 | 0 |
19. | Washington | 1-0 | 0 |
20. | Utah | 1-0 | 0 |
21. | Iowa | 1-0 | 0 |
22. | Houston | 1-0 | 0 |
23. | Missouri | 1-0 | 0 |
24. | Virginia | 1-0 | 0 |
25. | Florida | 1-0 | 0 |
Schools Dropped Out
No. 23 Clemson
Others Receiving Votes
Louisville 125; Illinois 45; Boise State 43; Arizona 42; South Carolina 36; Memphis 24; Auburn 19; Vanderbilt 17; Pittsburgh 14; Virginia Tech 11; Nebraska 11; Arizona State 11; Minnesota 9; Western Michigan 7; New Mexico 7; North Dakota State 6; Kansas State 6; Navy 5; UCLA 4; Duke 4; UNLV 3; Clemson 3; San Diego State 2; North Carolina 2; Colorado 1;
AP Top 25 Poll - Week 1
Rank | Team | Record | First-Place Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
1. | Ohio State | 1-0 | 46 |
2. | Georgia | 1-0 | 0 |
3. | Notre Dame | 1-0 | 4 |
4. | Texas | 1-0 | 2 |
5. | Indiana | 1-0 | 8 |
6. | Oregon | 1-0 | 3 |
7. | Miami | 1-0 | 1 |
8. | LSU | 1-0 | 5 |
9. | Ole Miss | 1-0 | 0 |
10. | Texas A&M | 1-0 | 0 |
11. | Oklahoma | 1-0 | 0 |
12. | Alabama | 1-0 | 0 |
13. | Texas Tech | 1-0 | 0 |
14. | USC | 2-0 | 0 |
15. | BYU | 1-0 | 0 |
16. | Penn State | 1-0 | 0 |
17. | SMU | 1-0 | 0 |
18. | Tennesee | 1-0 | 0 |
19. | Washington | 1-0 | 0 |
20. | Utah | 1-0 | 0 |
21. | Iowa | 1-0 | 0 |
22. | Houston | 1-0 | 0 |
23. | Missouri | 1-0 | 0 |
24. | Louisville | 0-1 | 0 |
25. | Virginia | 1-0 | 0 |
Others receiving votes:
Boise State 86, Florida 83, Michigan 69, Arizona 33, Memphis 23, South Carolina 19, Western Michigan 12, Pittsburgh 11, Navy 10, UCLA 7, Virginia Tech 6, Illinois 6, James Madison 4, Minnesota 4, Colorado 3, Auburn 2, Arizona State 2, Vanderbilt 2
Miami's 2026 Season in the Polls
- Preseason: No. 7 in AP Top 25, No. 7 in Coaches Poll
- After Week 1 (Stanford Win): No. 7 in AP Top 25, No. 7 in Coaches Poll
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.
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