1-0 over No. 1: How Miami Hurricanes are keeping focus internal as nation’s new top team

University of Miami admin October 23, 2026 0 Comments

1-0 over No. 1: How Miami Hurricanes are keeping focus internal as nation’s new top team

The Miami Hurricanes know the number that is affixed to their name. They know there will be talk surrounding it.

Don’t expect them to pay attention to any of it whatsoever.

Yes, the Hurricanes are the No. 1 team in the country, a distinction they haven’t been able to make for nearly a quarter-century, but it’s not their focus right now.

“Rankings during the season don’t really matter,” linebacker Mo Toure said. “It’s really about the ranking at the end of the season. We ain’t tripping too much about being No. 1 right now. We want to be No. 1 at the end of the season when it’s all said and done.”

For that to happen, Miami (6-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) has to continue its winning ways, starting with its home game against the Pittsburgh Panthers (5-2, 2-2 ACC) on Saturday (noon, ESPN).

For that to happen, they have to keep their focus internal.

For that to happen, they have to prioritize winning what’s directly ahead of them — or, as the Hurricanes simply say over and over again, go 1-0, no matter the activity.

Even, say, lunch.

“Don’t even look to tomorrow. Just be 1-0 in the next task you have to do,” Hurricanes center Ryan Rodriguez said after practice Tuesday. “The next task I’m going to do is some mobility, some film and some lunch. Just go be 1-0 at that, do it at the best of my ability.”

That’s the mentality that has been drilled into the program for five years under coach Mario Cristobal, and one that is finally producing results. Miami slogged through its first two seasons under Cristobal, going 5-7 and then 7-6 before winning 10 games in 2024 and reaching the College Football Playoff National Championship Game last season.

That final step, a national title still eludes UM. The Hurricanes haven’t won it all since the 2001 season. That team, fittingly enough, will be honored during the Hurricanes’ game on Saturday against Pittsburgh, with the current team wearing replica jerseys to recognize the group.

“What they brought back is, at the end of the day, what makes everything cool, and that’s winning,” Cristobal said.

This year’s version of the Hurricanes have done their share of winning, too. Miami hits the midway point of the season as one of just six teams still undefeated along with UCLA of the Big Ten; BYU, Texas Tech and Utah of the Big 12; and James Madison of the Sun Belt.

Consecutive weeks filled with upsets have resulted in Miami sitting in the top spot of the college football world.

But Miami knows that place on the perch is fickle if they don’t handle their business.

That has been seen during these past two weeks.

Texas lost to unranked Oklahoma two weeks ago (and again to unranked Florida last week) to drop from No. 1 to No. 19.

Georgia lost to unranked Auburn last week, falling from No. 1 to No. 5.

As the No. 1 team, the Hurricanes are going to get everyone’s best effort, if they weren’t already. That’s the nature of the game.

But Cristobal knows the Hurricanes can’t control if other teams handle things differently because the number next to their name is a one now compared to a two, a three, a seven.

What the Hurricanes can control, however, is how they operate.

“I mean, relevance is great,” Cristobal said. “I think that comes in other forms aside from the ranking. I think all of us think the rankings only matter when the last game of the season is played. So, as it relates to that, that’s probably the best answer I could give. It’s the one that, to me, makes the most sense. I know it’s not an interesting answer or a juicy one, but hopefully it fits.”

Which leads Miami to Saturday and its game against Pittsburgh. The Panthers opened the season 5-0 before starting quarterback Mason Heintschel sustained a season-ending ACL tear. They have dropped consecutive games since then to North Carolina and Boston College.

While Pittsburgh’s offense has been erratic sans Heintschel, the Panthers still boast a top defense. They lead the country nationally in run defense (allowed an average of just 57.29 yards on the ground per game), have forced 11 turnovers (tied for second most in the ACC) and have 45 tackles for loss (fourth in the ACC).

“We’ve got to come prepared,” quarterback Darian Mensah said.

Mensah will continue to be a spark that drives that Hurricanes preparation and success. His 80.8% completion rate still leads the country at the midway mark of the season, and he has 18 touchdowns against just one interception.

But perhaps more important is how he’s handling things off the field. As the quarterback of the team at the top of the rankings, it’s natural that Mensah would be getting bombarded with messages from friends and family as Miami continues is ascent.

He wouldn’t know. Mensah got a new phone recently.

“They might have texted me. ‘Congrats on being No. 1,’” Mensah said, “but I haven’t seen it. I’m really just blocking out all the noise.”

And…

“And trying to be focused on going 1-0,” Mensah finished.

Ah, there’s that phrase again.

It will keep popping up week after week after week. All the way until, the Hurricanes hope, Jan. 25. That’s when this season’s national championship game will be played in Las Vegas.

After that game is when the ranking will truly matter.

Until then, Miami has to focus on what’s in front of it. That’s six more games in the regular season. That’s potentially the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 5 in Charlotte, North Carolina. And, if all works out, that’s three to four games in the College Football Playoff, capped by the title game.

But for now, the sole focus in on the first of those steps, and that’s going 1-0 on Saturday afternoon against Pittsburgh.

“We don’t worry about what teams, programs, media say about us,” Cristobal said. “I mean, our complete focus is on practice and preparation and giving ourselves the best chance to be 1-0. And when we say 1-0, it’s not just the game; it’s all the things leading up to the game. Because you really play the game before you play the game. … In a noisy world, where everything moves really, really fast — and I’m sure their phones and whatnot and inboxes are flooded with all kinds of messages, both good and bad — let’s get it back to the fact that we are extremely grateful to be at the University of Miami and have this opportunity that we have. And the only way to maximize it and honor it is by playing our butts off. And the only way to play our butts off is to keep our mouths shut and go prepare.”