I was born and raised in Miami and began watching this great sport when the Hurricanes were the kings of college football in the 1980s and early \u201990s.<\/p>\n
Miami wasn\u2019t just the most talented team in the nation \u2014 the Canes were also the most hated team in sports. It was more than Convicts vs. Catholics.<\/p>\n
It was the dancing, the taunting and the in-your-face style that rubbed most of America the wrong way. Miami called it swagger. Everyone else called it arrogance.<\/p>\n
Then came the sanctions, the Butch Davis rebuild and one more glorious team in 2001 before Miami\u2019s administration dropped the ball and the program went through two decades-plus of annual preseason hype and eventual disappointment (or even embarrassment).<\/p>\n
But times are changing.<\/p>\n
Mario Cristobal has everyone on the verge of hating Miami again. His team doesn\u2019t dance, taunt or wag its collective finger in your favorite team\u2019s face like the ones he played on during Jimmy Johnson\u2019s reign. But these Canes are giving fans around the nation other reasons to hate them. In this era of player compensation, Miami \u2014 along with several other well-funded programs \u2014 will seemingly do anything necessary to secure top-end talent.<\/p>\n
Need a quarterback, but the portal is about to close? No problem. Make it clear that you are prepared to spend big on a ready-made starter and maybe someone will enter the portal at the last minute \u2014 perhaps the starting QB for the ACC champs (even if he is still under contract with the champs and even if he has assured the champs he is coming back).<\/p>\n
Problem solved!<\/p>\n
Miami hate? It\u2019s about to be reignited.<\/p>\n
As I embark on my third season making oddly specific predictions, here\u2019s a look at how the teams in the preseason AP Top 25 will fare along with my projection for the College Football Playoff bracket. I\u2019ve also included the latest BetMGM championship odds for each team.<\/p>\n
1. Ohio State (+600): Ohio State loses 27\u201324 at Texas in Week 2, but doesn\u2019t lose again in the regular season to finish 11-1. The Buckeyes score late to beat Oregon 31\u201327 in Columbus, Ohio, handle Michigan behind a dominant second half and arrive in Indianapolis as the only team unbeaten in league play. Jeremiah Smith finishes with more than 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns and wins the Biletnikoff Award and Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, but finishes second in the Heisman race.<\/p>\n
2. Oregon (+800): Dante Moore throws three touchdown passes in the Big Ten Championship Game as the Ducks win the rematch with Ohio State 31\u201327. A\u2019Mauri Washington wins the Outland Trophy and anchors a defense that holds nine opponents under 24 points. Dan Lanning\u2019s offensive line peaks during the second half of the season and wins the Joe Moore Award as Oregon earns the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.<\/p>\n
Why Notre Dame is the staff’s prediction to win the national title<\/p>\n
David Ubben<\/p>\n
3. Georgia (+900): Gunner Stockton throws for 3,000 yards and accounts for 30 total touchdowns, and the Bulldogs finish in the top 10 nationally in points allowed. But the Georgia defense is noticeably less dominant against the most creative offenses on the schedule, resulting in a 10-2 season and an at-large berth in the CFP.<\/p>\n
4. Notre Dame (+650): Leonard Moore becomes only the fifth cornerback to win the Bednarik Award as the nation\u2019s outstanding defensive player. Preseason Heisman favorite CJ Carr throws for more than 3,300 yards and emerges as the No. 1 NFL prospect. But the Irish lose games late to BYU and Miami to finish 10-2. The good news: Notre Dame is ranked in the top 12 of the CFP rankings and makes the field.<\/p>\n
5. Texas (+650): Thanks to Cam Coleman\u2019s arrival, Arch Manning produces the consistent season Texas expected from him a year ago, throwing for more than 3,400 yards and accounting for 35 touchdowns to finish among the top five in Heisman voting. The Longhorns\u2019 only regular-season loss comes against Ole Miss, and they finish alone atop the SEC standings at 8\u20131 and eventually earn a top-four seed in the CFP.<\/p>\n
6. Indiana (+800): Josh Hoover passes for more than 3,500 yards in Curt Cignetti\u2019s offense \u2014 with both Nick Marsh and Charlie Becker delivering 1,000-yard seasons. But Hoover\u2019s late turnovers contribute directly to losses to Ohio State and Michigan, which keeps the defending national champions out of the Big Ten title game. Indiana makes the Playoff and hosts a first-round game against 11th-seeded Notre Dame.<\/p>\n
7. Miami (+1100): Darian Mensah, the high-priced transfer from Duke, passes for more than 4,000 yards and 35 touchdowns to win the Heisman, and Malachi Toney and Cooper Barkate both surpass 1,000 receiving yards as the Hurricanes complete their first undefeated regular season since 2002. Miami enters the CFP as the nation\u2019s only unbeaten team and the No. 2 seed behind Oregon, the one-loss Big Ten champions.<\/p>\n
8. Texas A&M (+1500): Northwestern transfer Anto Saka makes a Nic Scourton-type impact in College Station, Texas, finishing third in the SEC with nine sacks. Texas A&M starts 10-0 with ranked wins over LSU, Alabama, and South Carolina but loses its final two regular-season games to Oklahoma and Texas, keeping the Aggies out of the SEC title game. The reward: a first-round Playoff game at Texas Tech.<\/p>\n
9. Ole Miss (+2500): Kewan Lacy rushes for more than 1,500 yards and 20 touchdowns for the second consecutive year, wins the Doak Walker Award and finishes third in Heisman voting. The best part of the season: Ole Miss beats LSU and goes 10-2 before knocking off Texas to win its first SEC title since 1963.<\/p>\n
10. Oklahoma (+3000): Brent Venables produces another strong defense, but the schedule exposes the offense\u2019s week-to-week volatility. Oklahoma\u2019s win over A&M is good enough to keep the Sooners ranked for much of the season, but a loss to Missouri turns a potential 9\u20133 Playoff argument into an 8\u20134 bowl season.<\/p>\n
11. LSU (+1500): Lane Kiffin immediately improves LSU\u2019s offensive spacing and explosiveness, but a transfer-heavy roster takes too long to develop consistency. The loss at Ole Miss becomes the season\u2019s most emotionally charged result, and the Tigers go 0\u20133 against the three SEC teams that finish with at least 10 regular-season victories and miss the Playoff.<\/p>\n
12. Texas Tech (+2200): Will Hammond returns from his knee injury and accounts for more than 3,000 total yards, and his mobility gives Texas Tech\u2019s offense a dimension it lacked during portions of 2025. The Red Raiders lose at Cincinnati \u2014 their only setback of the regular season \u2014 and that hurts their seeding despite beating Arizona in the Big 12 Championship Game.<\/p>\n
13. Alabama (+1500): Keelon Russell validates Kalen DeBoer\u2019s decision to name him the starter by throwing for more than 3,000 yards and producing at least 30 total touchdowns, but his turnovers contribute to losses against Texas A&M, LSU and Tennessee. A win over Georgia creates intense Playoff debate, but the Tide miss the field at 9-3.<\/p>\n
14. BYU (+8000): LJ Martin wins back-to-back Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year awards and finishes second nationally to Kewan Lacy in rushing yards. Turnovers against Arizona ultimately prevent the Cougars from returning to the Big 12 title game. BYU\u2019s win over Notre Dame, though, gets them into the CFP field at 10-2.<\/p>\n
15. USC (+3500): Lincoln Riley has his deepest and most complete roster at USC. The Trojans\u2019 three losses all come against Playoff teams (Oregon, Ohio State, Indiana), but their best victories (Penn State, Washington) do not offset that 0\u20133 record. USC finishes outside the top 12 of the final CFP rankings, and Riley\u2019s future becomes a huge topic of discussion.<\/p>\n
16. Michigan (+2500): Kyle Whittingham\u2019s first Michigan team immediately adopts his physical identity, particularly on defense. The Wolverines are good enough to spoil Indiana\u2019s championship defense but not efficient enough offensively to finish better than 8-4 against a difficult slate.\u00a0The most frustrating defeat comes vs. Iowa, where the Wolverines fail to score a touchdown on three possessions inside the Hawkeyes\u2019 15-yard line.<\/p>\n
17. Washington (+15000): Demond Williams Jr. remains one of the most explosive players in college football, and the Huskies reach nine victories despite playing one of the Big Ten\u2019s most demanding schedules. Washington beats Penn State and Iowa, but losses to USC, Indiana and Oregon keep the Huskies out of the CFP.<\/p>\n
18. Penn State (+5000): Penn State lacks the explosive perimeter talent needed to consistently threaten the Big Ten\u2019s best defenses, and the Nittany Lions fall out of the AP poll during the first half of the season before recovering to finish 8-4. The oddly specific prediction: Penn State leads at halftime in three of its four losses to Wisconsin, USC, Michigan and Washington.<\/p>\n
19. SMU (+15000): Rhett Lashlee again fields one of the ACC\u2019s most explosive offenses with Kevin Jennings passing for more than 3,300 yards and rushing for 500-plus on the ground. But losses to Louisville, Notre Dame and Virginia prevent the Mustangs from earning a CFP bid.<\/p>\n
20. Tennessee (+5000): Fabulous freshman Faizon Brandon produces more than 2,900 yards of total offense and 25 touchdowns, and the Volunteers knock off rival Alabama. But losses to Texas, Arkansas, Texas A&M and LSU result in a frustrating 8-4 season in Knoxville.<\/p>\n
21. Utah (+8000): Wayshawn Parker rushes for over 1,100 yards, and Morgan Scalley\u2019s first full season produces another physical defense. The Utes allow fewer than 24 points per game but go 1\u20134\u00a0 when their opponent reaches 27. The losses are to Houston, BYU, Arizona and TCU.<\/p>\n
22. Iowa (+15000): Kirk Ferentz again fields a defense and special teams operation capable of generating a major upset without much offensive assistance. A win over Michigan briefly returns Iowa to the rankings, but late losses to Illinois and Nebraska leave the Hawkeyes below .500 in Big Ten play and outside the final CFP Top 25.<\/p>\n
23. Houston (+25000): Amare Thomas catches 82 passes for a Big 12-leading 1,230 yards and 13 touchdowns to help Houston to a 10-2 finish. Losses to Texas Tech and West Virginia keep the Cougars out of the league championship and just out of the CFP field.<\/p>\n
24. Louisville (+10000): Isaac Brown leads the ACC in rushing with 1,200-plus yards, and Clev Lubin records a league-best 11.5 sacks and 17 tackles for loss as Louisville beats SMU and finishes second in the ACC with a 10-2 record. The Cards\u2019 CFP hopes, damaged by losses to Ole Miss and NC State, end with a defeat to Miami in the ACC Championship Game.<\/p>\n