College Football Predictions & Picks – Miami To Finally End ACC Conference Title Wait

The Hurricanes entered the ACC ahead of the 2004 season, having won each of the previous four Big East crowns, and many expected the team from Coral Gables to start stacking up conference titles – or at least become a regular fixture in the championship.

That has not been the case.

Miami have not won the ACC Championship in 22 attempts, and they have made just one appearance in the conference championship itself – a 38-3 blowout loss to Clemson back in 2017.

Last season the Canes made it all the way to the National Championship Game – ultimately losing to Indiana – but despite reaching the biggest game in all of college football, they were again unable to claim conference glory.

Shock defeats to Louisville and SMU cost them a shot at the championship game, and it was an opening weekend win over Notre Dame that saved their season and propelled them into the playoffs, where they upset Texas A&M, Ohio State and Ole Miss.

Miami have their sights set on reaching the summit on the national stage this time around, but there will be a mountain of pressure on them to finally get their hands on the ACC Championship trophy.

Can they do it?

The Hurricanes have lost several key figures from last season’s run, but they have also returned plenty of talent that helped take the team to National Championship Game – including Malachi Toney, Mark Fletcher and Mohamed Toure.

They have also made some good moves in the portal, including replacing quarterback Carson Beck with Duke standout Darian Mensah, while luring defensive end Damon Wilson II away from Missouri. 

Losing the likes of Reuben Bain, Akheem Meisdor, Francis Mauigoa, Markell Bell and Anez Cooper is a blow in the trenches, but with Mario Cristobal and Jason Taylor on the coaching staff you know the new faces will be well drilled and physical, and with the return of Corey Hetherman as defensive co-ordinator it is safe to predict that this will be a dominant group again in 2026 – even if it is not quite at the level of the Bain/Meisdor-led unit.

And on the opposite side of the football, we are expecting to see a little more creativity and explosiveness from Shannon Dawson’s offense with the exciting Mensah under center. That’s not to say Miami will not lean on the run game again – that will always be Cristobal’s modus operandi – but having the likes of Mensah and Toney on this offense means Dawson can – when he wants to – get more aggressive and creative.