Where Miami Football Ranks in 2026 Preseason AP Top 25
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Last season, the Miami Hurricanes started the season as the No. 10 team in the country in the 2025 preseason AP Top 25.
After finishing with a 13-3 record and falling one drive short of winning a National Championship to the Indiana Hoosiers, the Canes finished the season as the No. 2 team in the country.
To start the 2026 season, the Hurricanes will be ranked the No. 7 team in the country before any snaps. They are the highest-ranked ACC team. SMU falls behind the pack at No. 19, and Louisville at No. 24.
BREAKING: Preseason College Football AP Poll🚨https://t.co/JL3USE6MnT pic.twitter.com/wImUOmUUg5
— On3 (@On3) August 17, 2026
As of now, the Hurricanes only have one ranked team to face this season: No. 4 Notre Dame. That game could highlight who will be the No. 1 team in the country come playoff time, but time will tell before the Nov. 4 matchup between the two rival schools.
Moreover, head coach Mario Cristobal also notes that these rankings don't matter and Miami can only control what it can.
"You know what made it easy, is that 12 of the preseason top 25 lats year ended up unranked," Cristobal said after Monday's practice. "I mean, there is data to last a lifetime, but you have to realize we have these guys for the legal limit, threem sometimes four hours, when they leave here all those hours with people heaping the praise on them.
"The best way to approach that in our opinon, and we don't have all the answers and we don't judge, everyday you battle for their minds. The best way to affect that is with real deal work. The right type of truth telling and confrentation to make sure we get the best out of everybody and not let things slip when it relates to culture.
"We have had unbelievable progress in the last four and a half years and you know it's not always perfect. and you know what? It's not always perfect. But you know what? We never come off of it because that attitude, that approach, that level of intensity and effort will get you the better result more times than not. So, we get on it and stay on it. And that place out there, Green Tree Practice Field, okay, that's a real thing."
2026 Preseason AP Top 25
Rank | Team | Points | First-Place Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
1. | Ohio State | 1,672 | 40 |
2. | Oregon | 1,597 | 16 |
3. | Georgia | 1,513 | 0 |
4. | Notre Dame | 1,510 | 6 |
5. | Texas | 1,483 | 0 |
6. | Indiana | 1,440 | 8 |
7. | Miami | 1,379 | 1 |
8. | Texas A&M | 1,131 | 0 |
9. | Ole Miss | 1,102 | 0 |
10. | Oklahoma | 1,047 | 0 |
11. | LSU | 988 | 0 |
12. | Texas Tech | 983 | 0 |
13. | Alabama | 904 | 0 |
14. | BYU | 839 | 0 |
15. | USC | 839 | 0 |
16. | Michigan | 718 | 0 |
17. | Washington | 501 | 0 |
18. | Penn State | 482 | 0 |
19. | SMU | 434 | 0 |
20. | Tennessee | 394 | 0 |
21. | Utah | 304 | 0 |
22. | Iowa | 260 | 0 |
23. | Houston | 252 | 0 |
24. | Louisville | 194 | 0 |
25. | Missouri | 117 | 0 |
Others Receiving Votes: Clemson 112, Florida 51, Boise State 43, Arizona 32, TCU 11, Navy 10, South Carolina 10, Illinois 9, Oklahoma State 8, Vanderbilt 8, Pittsburgh 7, Virginia Tech 6, Minnesota 5, UNLV 4, New Mexico 4, Georgia Tech 4, Louisiana 4, James Madison 3, Auburn 3, Memphis 2, California 2, Liberty 1, Western Michigan 1, Tulane 1, Virginia 1.
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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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