Miami is a national title-game hangover away from being the ACC's clear best team. Wake Forest is done being anyone's homecoming game.
Bush’s Picks
MIAWAKE
MIAWAKE
OverUnder
Best BetMiami
Miami's skill-position talent, led by Darian Mensah and a loaded receiving corps, gives them a real edge over a Wake Forest team still blending in new pieces. The Hurricanes are the more proven program with playoff-caliber aspirations, and that talent gap should show up even on the road in Week 3. Wake Forest's defense is good enough to make it competitive, but not enough to consistently be favored here.
Miami
+Mensah threw 34 TDs, 6 INTs at Duke last year
+Toney and Fletcher both return as proven 1,000-yard threats
+Reached CFP title game in 2025 under Cristobal
−Losing 4 starting offensive linemen
−True freshman tackle, injury-prone center up front
−New QB adjusting to a new team and system
Wake Forest
+Coming off 9-win season, Duke's Mayo Bowl title
+Ashford returns as bowl MVP and proven starter
+Hardy led entire ACC in tackles for loss
−42 new enrollees means real roster continuity questions
−Brutal schedule spot with 4 road games in 6 dates
−Facing a team many project as ACC's best again
This one comes early in the year but it's a real measuring stick on both sides. Miami rolled into 2025 as a 10-2 playoff team before running into Indiana in the championship game, and Mario Cristobal spent the offseason making sure that near-miss doesn't turn into a step back. Wake Forest, meanwhile, is trying to prove last year's nine-win breakout under Jake Dickert wasn't a one-off, and hosting Miami under the Friday night lights in Week 3 is exactly the kind of game that tells you who they actually are.
The headline for Miami is the quarterback change. Darian Mensah transferred in from Duke after throwing 34 touchdowns against just 6 interceptions while leading the Blue Devils to an ACC title, and he's bringing his top target Cooper Barkate (1,106 yards, 7 TDs in 2025) with him. Pair that with returning playmakers Malachi Toney (1,211 yards, 10 TDs) and Mark Fletcher Jr. (1,192 yards, 12 TDs) and Miami's skill-position group looks as scary as anyone's in the country. The catch is up front — the Hurricanes lose four starting offensive linemen and are leaning on an oft-injured center in Ryan Rodriguez and a true freshman tackle in Jackson Cantwell, which is exactly the kind of thing that gets exposed on the road early in a season.
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6:30 PM CT
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MIA Miami
WAKE Wake Forest
Wake Forest isn't just happy to be here. Robby Ashford, the triple transfer who won Duke's Mayo Bowl MVP honors last season, is back as the unquestioned starter, and the defense returns real difference-makers in defensive back Davaughn Patterson and Langston Hardy, who led the entire ACC in tackles for loss a year ago. Dickert has talked all offseason about raising the standard rather than settling for a good debut season, and a home date with Miami is the loudest possible chance to show it.
Miami Hurricanes
Sep 10?vs Florida A&M—
Sep 4?@ Stanford—
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Sep 12?@ Purdue—
Sep 3?vs Akron—
Recent form.
The bigger question for the Demon Deacons is depth and continuity. They brought in 42 new enrollees and are counting on transfers to fill real roles right away, which is always a little unpredictable this early in a season. Miami has the opposite problem — proven pieces everywhere except the group protecting a brand-new quarterback in his first true test against a hungry, well-coached defense. Whichever weakness shows up first probably decides this game.
Kickoff is set for 6:30 PM ET, and this is the kind of spot that flips fast if the home crowd gets into it early. Miami's ceiling is a top-5 team with a Heisman-caliber skill group; Wake Forest's ceiling is an ACC Championship contender that finally gets taken seriously nationally. Neither team can afford an early letdown here.
