An assumption about the Miami Hurricanes’ 2026 schedule might have changed in a big way after Week 1
One of the top games on the Canes’ schedule just looked particularly vulnerable on Saturday night.
The Miami Hurricanes got their 2026 season started off in about as good a way as possible. The Canes went out to the West Coast and put a hurting on Stanford 45-6 in a game that could have been far worse if Malachi Toney — who shattered a program record with 234 receiving yards — and many of the rest of the starters weren’t calling it a day in the third quarter.
Miami certainly looked like one of the best teams in the country in the season’s first full week. And that’s begged the question: who in the ACC will be able to stop them?
Many believed before the season that Miami’s Oct. 3 trip to Clemson would be Miami’s second-toughest game of the year behind their Nov. 7 game at Notre Dame. Well, after LSU absolutely demolished a completely lost and overwhelmed Clemson squad 51-10 in front of a national audience on Saturday night, that very well might no longer be the case.
Who could be that toughest ACC game now? It might be at home in November against either Pitt or Virginia Tech.
Miami’s second-toughest game might not be against Clemson; it could be against Pittsburgh or Virginia Tech
Pittsburgh had their moments last year, and they looked like the better version of their mercurial 2025 selves in their opener against Miami (OH) in a 59-14 win. Mason Heintschel threw for 453 yards and five touchdowns. Virginia Tech got their season off on the right foot as well, as James Franklin’s team rolled up VMI 73-3 in Blacksburg.
It’s hard to gauge anything against competition that bad, but for what they had to work with, both of those teams at least took care of business in very convincing fashion. I expect Tech to be significantly better this year with Franklin on the sideline, and his clash with Cristobal and the Canes on Nov. 21 at Hard Rock Stadium could be one to mark down. Pitt comes to town on Oct. 24, and of course, emotions will be high on Oct. 17 at home against rival Florida State.
That’s not to say Miami couldn’t lose to Clemson if they struggle; that’s absolutely in the cards and particularly on the road. But no matter where that top conference challenge comes from, Miami appears to have a significant talent edge in every ACC game they play this year. We’ll just have to wait and see if Cristobal’s team can avoid any unexpected losses that have been a staple of each of his seasons in Coral Gables.
