The goal is clear for the Miami Hurricanes for the 2026 college football season, and it starts Friday, Sept. 4, when they visit the Stanford Cardinal to start their campaign. Stanford got its season going with a big victory Saturday, as it topped Hawaii 37-27 at home. Now, the seventh-ranked Hurricanes come to town to kick off a season where they have real designs on winning the national title.
The Hurricanes were a controversial playoff entrant last season but went all the way to the national title game, where it lost to Indiana 27-21. Stanford is set for 9 p.m. Miami and more college football games with the FanDuel promo code to receive bonus bets: The Hurricanes are 24.5-point favorites in latest FanDuel Sportsbook odds, and the Over/Under for total points scored is 47.5.
If you want to try your hand at college football betting on games like Miami vs. Stanford on the best betting apps, make sure to check out our picks for this matchup. You should also see what SportsLine experts and the SportsLine Projection Model have to say.
The Hurricanes lost a lot of talent from their national runners-up squad, but coach Mario Cristobal and his staff have restocked with elite players and look to finish the job this season. Duke transfer Darian Mensah will take over at quarterback and is among the Heisman Trophy favorites as the season kicks off. He is priced at +950, behind only fellow quarterbacks CJ Carr (+750) of Notre Dame and Arch Manning (+850) of Texas, according to FanDuel.
Mensah, who threw for 3,973 yards and 34 touchdowns for the Blue Devils last season, joins a loaded offense that features star receiver Malachi Toney (1,211 yards, 10 TDs) and running back Mark Fletcher (1,192 yards, 12 TDs). Star pass rushers Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor have moved on after combining for 22 sacks last season, but holdover Ahmad Moten (4.5 sacks in 2025) and Missouri transfer Damon Wilson (9.0 sacks in 2025) should fill in well. UM allowed 14 points per game last season (fourth in FBS) and scored 31.6 (30th).
The Cardinal are at home and should come in with confidence off their 10-point victory against Hawaii on Saturday. The Rainbow Warriors scored just seven points in the first three quarters and the Cardinal outgained them 483-322 in total yards, including 173-46 on the ground. Stanford scored just 18.8 points per game last season (120th in FBS), so the Week 0 output is a promising sign.
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