2025 CFB Top 50 - 11 - Miami Hurricanes - football field artwork, green surface with white hashmarks

College Football

CFB Top 50, #11: 2025 Miami Hurricanes

by
Bracket Yard
August 12, 2025

Just 11 days away from college football, we find the 2025 Miami Hurricanes next on the CFB Top 50 countdown.

Miami was an interesting team last season. They had the guy who would eventually become the number one overall pick, quarterback Cam Ward, and they started out – indeed, played most of the season – with a lot of forward momentum. Things did not come apart at the seams until November, when they lost three of their last four games, including the Pop-Tarts Bowl to Iowa State. The Syracuse loss on November 30 cost them a CFP bid with near 100-percent certainty.

The Canes’ star quarterback may now be gone, but Miami made a big play to replace him in hopes of staying relevant in 2025.

2025 Miami Hurricanes Basic Facts

Head Coach: Mario Cristobal (4th season)

2025 Conference: Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)

2024 Record: 10-3 (6-2), 3rd in ACC

Final Resolution of Last Season: Lost Pop-Tarts Bowl, ranked 18th (AP)

2024 Scoring Offensive Rank: 1st (43.9)

2024 Scoring Defensive Rank: T-68th (25.3)

Miami Key Additions and Subtractions

IN – Carson Beck, quarterback. Transferred from Georgia.

IN – CJ Daniels, wide receiver. Transferred from LSU.

IN – Jakobe Thomas, safety. Transferred from Tennessee.

OUT – Cam Ward, quarterback. Drafted first overall by Tennessee in 2025 Draft.

OUT – Elijah Arroyo, tight end. Drafted by Seattle in 2nd round of 2025 Draft.

OUT – Jalen Rivers, guard. Drafted by Cincinnati in 5th round of 2025 Draft.

OUT – Xavier Restrepo, wide receiver. Signed by Tennessee as an undrafted free agent.

Best Game on the Schedule in 2025

August 31 vs. Notre Dame. Literally their first game out of the gate is their toughest on the schedule. Difficult games can build character and make statements, whether good or bad. Miami will have the chance set the tone for their season immediately.

2025 Miami Hurricanes: Outlook

The Canes went out and got Carson Beck, formerly the starting quarterback for Georgia. Miami showed Beck the money (lots of it), and they have themselves a credible replacement for Cam Ward. In his past two seasons, he went 24-3 with over 7,000 passing yards and 52 touchdowns. This took Miami from a situation where they wondered how they could possibly rebound from Ward moving on to feeling pretty good about maintaining some sort of consistency. Beck has some very big shoes to fill.

The good news for fans of this program is that Ward might still be throwing bombs to his top wide receiver, Xavier Restrepo. The bad news is that it will be on the Tennessee Titans, not the Miami Hurricanes. LSU transfer CJ Daniels will be called upon to contribute right away.

Miami’s defense was middle-of-the-road last season, and it let them down in the home stretch. However, a few of their top pass rushers are back, in addition to the multiple inbound transfers who project as starters as of August.

The Hurricanes start the season with a barnburner against Notre Dame, followed by two winnable games, and then Florida before the bulk of their ACC schedule. This should still be one of the better teams in the conference, and as long as they are still generating offense, 5 or 6 conference wins is not out of the question, and might even be likely. The Notre Dame and Florida games, however, will be the difference between Miami having a good season and a great one. Win both and the sky is the limit, but lose both and it will set a foul tone for the rest of the year.