National college football analyst J.D. PicKell shared his outlook on Miami entering Year 5 under Mario Cristobal, outlining why he believes the Hurricanes are positioned to win the ACC and compete for a College Football Playoff first-round bye. A transcript is below:
J.D. PicKell: There’s no excuse for Miami not to win the ACC and have a bye in the first round of the College Football Playoff. No excuse.
I talk a lot about what teams are on paper, and I’ll get to that, but Miami being in Year 5 under Mario Cristobal—with a real proof of concept for his culture—is a big reason why.
Think about where things were two years ago. If you were recruiting a player, you were selling a vision. “We’re going to get there. We’re going to compete for titles. Trust the process.” You were asking guys to buy into something that hadn’t happened yet.
Now? You’re not vision casting anymore. You’re pointing to the College Football Playoff run. You’re pointing to wins over Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Ohio State. You’re showing tangible results.
That makes the culture easier to buy into. When players can see it, when they can point to it, it’s a lot easier to do things the way Cristobal wants them done.
J.D. PicKell: At a roster level, the thing that kept Miami from winning a national championship last year—painting with a broad brush—was probably quarterback play.
It’s impossible to say for sure, but if Darian Mensah is playing against Indiana, do they win that game? I think he probably gives your receivers a better chance in some of those situations.
But overall, it feels like everything is aligning for Miami this season.
You’ve got the Year 5 culture, the proof of concept, continuity with coordinators. Then you look at the skill players—Malachi Toney, Cooper Barkate, Darien Mensah at quarterback, Mark Fletcher back in the fold.
And the one pushback you might have is, “Well, you lost guys like Mauigoa, Rueben Bain, Akheem Mesidor—are you still going to dominate in the trenches?”
My answer is simple: as long as Mario Cristobal is the head coach, offensive and defensive line play will always be priority number one.
Just because you don’t know all the names right now doesn’t mean they won’t be household names by November.
How many people a year ago were talking about Akheem Mesidor wrecking games in the playoff? Not many. You knew Rueben Bain, but you didn’t realize how deep Miami was on the line.
Now you’ve got a guy like Jackson Cantwell—five-star true freshman—who could start at tackle. Cristobal has been stacking the trenches for years. He wasn’t surprised by guys going pro. That’s been part of the plan.
J.D. PicKell: So when you zoom out, everything is aligned—momentum, culture, roster, quarterback play.
And then there’s the schedule.
I don’t want to disrespect the ACC, because it’s unpredictable—Pandora’s Box every year. Clemson was supposed to win it last year and didn’t come close. Duke won it with seven wins.
But on paper, Miami should win the ACC. I’m going to have a hard time picking against them.
There’s nobody in that conference that matches what Miami has from a roster standpoint.
Now, the Notre Dame game in November will have some juice. No question. But even if you lose that game and finish 11-1, you’re still playing for the ACC Championship. And if you win that, you’re probably getting a bye in the College Football Playoff.
This is where Miami is now.
J.D. PicKell: Year 5 under Cristobal. The roster has been elevated. The culture is installed. The systems are in place. They’re not rebooting anymore—they’re humming.
Now you go win hardware.
Now you go do more than just make the playoff. You go win your conference on the way there. It would be Miami’s first ACC title.
There’s no excuse for that not to happen—and I’m sure they feel the same way in Coral Gables.
J.D. PicKell: There’s no excuse for Miami not to win the ACC and have a bye in the first round of the College Football Playoff. No excuse.
I talk a lot about what teams are on paper, and I’ll get to that, but Miami being in Year 5 under Mario Cristobal—with a real proof of concept for his culture—is a big reason why.
Think about where things were two years ago. If you were recruiting a player, you were selling a vision. “We’re going to get there. We’re going to compete for titles. Trust the process.” You were asking guys to buy into something that hadn’t happened yet.
Now? You’re not vision casting anymore. You’re pointing to the College Football Playoff run. You’re pointing to wins over Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Ohio State. You’re showing tangible results.
That makes the culture easier to buy into. When players can see it, when they can point to it, it’s a lot easier to do things the way Cristobal wants them done.
J.D. PicKell: At a roster level, the thing that kept Miami from winning a national championship last year—painting with a broad brush—was probably quarterback play.
It’s impossible to say for sure, but if Darian Mensah is playing against Indiana, do they win that game? I think he probably gives your receivers a better chance in some of those situations.
But overall, it feels like everything is aligning for Miami this season.
You’ve got the Year 5 culture, the proof of concept, continuity with coordinators. Then you look at the skill players—Malachi Toney, Cooper Barkate, Darien Mensah at quarterback, Mark Fletcher back in the fold.
And the one pushback you might have is, “Well, you lost guys like Mauigoa, Rueben Bain, Akheem Mesidor—are you still going to dominate in the trenches?”
My answer is simple: as long as Mario Cristobal is the head coach, offensive and defensive line play will always be priority number one.
Just because you don’t know all the names right now doesn’t mean they won’t be household names by November.
How many people a year ago were talking about Akheem Mesidor wrecking games in the playoff? Not many. You knew Rueben Bain, but you didn’t realize how deep Miami was on the line.
Now you’ve got a guy like Jackson Cantwell—five-star true freshman—who could start at tackle. Cristobal has been stacking the trenches for years. He wasn’t surprised by guys going pro. That’s been part of the plan.
J.D. PicKell: So when you zoom out, everything is aligned—momentum, culture, roster, quarterback play.
And then there’s the schedule.
I don’t want to disrespect the ACC, because it’s unpredictable—Pandora’s Box every year. Clemson was supposed to win it last year and didn’t come close. Duke won it with seven wins.
But on paper, Miami should win the ACC. I’m going to have a hard time picking against them.
There’s nobody in that conference that matches what Miami has from a roster standpoint.
Now, the Notre Dame game in November will have some juice. No question. But even if you lose that game and finish 11-1, you’re still playing for the ACC Championship. And if you win that, you’re probably getting a bye in the College Football Playoff.
This is where Miami is now.
J.D. PicKell: Year 5 under Cristobal. The roster has been elevated. The culture is installed. The systems are in place. They’re not rebooting anymore—they’re humming.
Now you go win hardware.
Now you go do more than just make the playoff. You go win your conference on the way there. It would be Miami’s first ACC title.
There’s no excuse for that not to happen—and I’m sure they feel the same way in Coral Gables.
