Miami Hurricanes have a key metric to throw in the faces of detractors of their 2026 schedule
The Canes have navigated their schedule at an elite level this year.
The Miami Hurricanes are over halfway through their 2026 slate, and they’ve arrived at the end of October at a perfect 7-0 overall and 5-0 in ACC play.
It’s hard to do much better than that, but some talking heads and opposing fans have questioned how tough the Hurricanes’ schedule is and how tough it is to navigate.
As it turns out, decently tough, at least according to one notable metric that is a part of the College Football Playoff selection process: strength of record. ESPN lists the strength of record for all teams, and the Hurricanes rank No. 3.
Miami Hurricanes rank No. 3 in strength of record through 8 weeks
Strength of record is defined as follows on ESPN’s FPI rankings page: “Reflects chance that an average Top 25 team would have team’s record or better, given the schedule.”
In other words, it would be very hard for the average top 25 team to match the perfect start the Hurricanes have had thus far. The Hurricanes have had three road ACC wins, which include a 33-20 win over a now-top-15 Wake Forest team.
The Hurricanes’ big playoff sales points will be on Nov. 7 against Notre Dame, as well as ACC Championship Game on Dec. 5. Those will tell a big story on just where in the rankings Miami fits.
But make no mistake — it hasn’t been a cake walk for Miami to get to their undefeated status.
