Unbeaten Miami hits its bye at 5-0 and No. 4, with Florida State up next at Hard Rock Stadium

The Miami Hurricanes are spending their only open date of the 2026 regular season at 5-0, ranked No. 4 in the country and alone in first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference. When they return to Hard Rock Stadium next Saturday, Oct. 17, the opponent will be a Florida State team that arrives at 3-3 after a 44-20 loss at Louisville on Friday night.

Miami has won its five games by an average of 39.8 points, according to Yahoo Sports, and has not been seriously threatened since a 33-20 win at Wake Forest in September. The bye comes at the halfway point of a schedule that grows tougher in November, with a trip to No. 3 Notre Dame on Nov. 7.

Five games, five wins

Miami opened on the road at Stanford and has alternated between dominant home wins and road tests in the ACC. The results so far:

The 77-7 home opener against Florida A&M produced 856 yards of offense, a school record, NBC Miami reported. The Clemson game was the statement win. Clemson was a 17 1/2-point home underdog, the largest spread against the Tigers in the Dabo Swinney era, and Miami left with a 28-point victory that moved the Hurricanes to 3-0 in league play and into sole possession of first place in the ACC.

Across the five games, Miami has scored 248 points, nearly 50 per game, and allowed 49, fewer than 10 per game. The closest result came at Wake Forest, where the Demon Deacons stayed within reach into the fourth quarter before the Miami defense took over late, according to the AP's account of the game. No opponent has scored more than 20 points against the Hurricanes, and three of the five have been held to a single touchdown or less.

Mensah's record pace

Quarterback Darian Mensah, in his first season with the Hurricanes, has thrown for 1,438 yards and 15 touchdowns without an interception through five games.

His first start for Miami set the tone: 401 yards and five touchdowns in the 45-6 win at Stanford. Against Florida A&M he completed 14 of 15 passes for 252 yards and three scores.

The record came at Wake Forest on Sept. 18. Mensah completed his first 24 passes at Allegacy Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, setting an ACC record for consecutive completions in a game, and finished 30 of 34 for 220 yards and three touchdowns. Counting the end of the Florida A&M game, he completed 35 straight passes, breaking the ACC mark for consecutive completions across multiple games, 30, set by North Carolina's Mitch Trubisky in 2016, according to The Associated Press. He was named ACC Quarterback of the Week.

Mensah followed that with a 23-of-27, 338-yard, three-touchdown game against Central Michigan, in which he also ran for a score, and an efficient 18-of-27, 227-yard night at Clemson that included a touchdown pass and a rushing touchdown on a long scramble.

Toney and Fletcher

Sophomore receiver Malachi Toney has been Mensah's primary target, with 39 catches for 604 yards and six touchdowns, according to Yahoo Sports. He opened the season with 12 catches for 234 yards and three touchdowns at Stanford and had another 12-catch game at Wake Forest. Mensah and Toney have both drawn early mention as Heisman Trophy contenders.

Toney nearly added another big play at Clemson, but a 58-yard touchdown catch was wiped out by an illegal shift penalty. Cooper Barkate led Miami in receiving that night with five catches for 98 yards.

Running back Mark Fletcher Jr. missed the Central Michigan game with an injury but returned at Clemson to lead a 192-yard rushing effort with 77 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. He had scored twice against Florida A&M and once at Wake Forest, where he ran for 85 yards.

Where Miami stands nationally

Miami held at No. 4 in the AP Top 25 released after the Clemson win, its highest ranking of the season. The Hurricanes climbed from No. 7 in the season's opening weeks to No. 5 by the Wake Forest game and No. 4 after that.

With the ACC championship game set for Dec. 5 and the expanded College Football Playoff field awaiting, Miami's path is in its own hands. The remaining schedule includes home games against Florida State, No. 24 Pittsburgh, Duke, Virginia Tech and Boston College, and road games at North Carolina and Notre Dame.

What Florida State brings

Florida State will arrive in Miami Gardens with questions on both sides of the ball. The Seminoles led Louisville 14-0 after one quarter Friday but allowed 44 of the final 50 points as Cardinals running back Isaac Brown ran for 235 yards. Louisville finished with 397 rushing yards, and the loss was Florida State's 11th straight in true road games.

The Seminoles do have a dangerous runner at quarterback. Ashton Daniels has 10 rushing touchdowns this season, a Florida State single-season record for a quarterback, including five in a 38-7 win over Virginia on Oct. 3. He threw for 209 yards and two touchdowns at Louisville but was sacked four times.

Florida State is 1-2 in ACC play, with losses to SMU and Louisville, and 3-3 overall after a 50-36 nonconference loss at Alabama. Miami's defense, which allowed 13 points at Clemson and three to Central Michigan, will be the best unit the Seminoles have faced since that trip to Tuscaloosa.

What's next

Miami will use the open week to rest and prepare for the in-state rivalry game at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 17. Kickoff time and television network had not been confirmed in the sources reviewed for this report. It will be Miami's first home game since the Sept. 26 rout of Central Michigan, and the first of three straight weeks at home or on the road against ACC opponents. After Florida State, the Hurricanes host Pittsburgh on Oct. 24 before back-to-back road games at North Carolina and Notre Dame.