Five Miami Hurricanes story lines to follow for the 2025 season
College football season has arrived — and the Miami Hurricanes’ marquee season opener is on the horizon.
The No. 10 Hurricanes host the No. 6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Aug. 31 at Hard Rock Stadium (7:30 p.m., ABC) as one of three top-10 matchups across the first full weekend of games for the sport.
It will be the first of several tests for Miami in Year 4 under Mario Cristobal, a critical one for the trajectory of the program.
Here are five key story lines to follow throughout the season.
1.) Can the Hurricanes take the next step and contend for an ACC title and College Football Playoff berth?
The Hurricanes have taken steps of improvement every season under Cristobal. They went 5-7 in Year 1, 7-6 in Year 2 and 10-3 in Year 3. But they have also dealt with late-season stumbles each year as well. They lost four of their final six in 2022 after a 3-3 start, four of their final five games in 2023 after a 6-2 start and three of their final four in 2024 after a perfect 9-0 start.
Miami is projected to finish second in the Atlantic Coast Conference to Clemson and by most accounts are seen as a contender for the 12-team College Football Playoff. To live up to those lofty goals and prove they can be among college football’s best, the Hurricanes will need to be consistently ready from start to finish and up to the task against any opponent regardless of prestige.
2.) Will Carson Beck rise to the occasion?
The Hurricanes reaped the benefits of Cam Ward’s lone season in Miami. The quarterback crushed almost every relevant single-season school record, became a Heisman Trophy finalist and went on to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Can Carson Beck follow that up with a repeat effort while also leading UM as a team to its championship goals? That will be the true test.
Beck showed he can win at a premier program, going 24-3 as a starter at Georgia the past two years, including 9-3 against ranked opponents.
How he responds in live games from his offseason elbow surgery to repair a torn UCL sustained in the SEC Championship Game in December will determine if he can have the prove-it season he’s looking for and lead the offense to similar heights as his predecessor.
3.) Will the defense step up under new coordinator Corey Hetherman?
The blame for the Hurricanes slipping late last season falls largely on the defense, which struggled once the schedule turned to conference play and more often than not got bailed out by the offense’s success until it was too late.
So Cristobal made wholesale changes on that side of the ball.
Out went defensive coordinator Lance Guidry and every assistant coach outside of defensive line coach Jason Taylor.
In came defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman, defensive tackles coach Damione Lewis, defensive backs coach Zac Etheridge and safeties coach Will Harris along with nine transfers players to shore up the entire group.
Players seem to have bought into Hetherman’s system, which focus on creating havoc up front and having that lead to turnovers. The depth seems improved as well, with Miami looking like it has the potential to go two deep at almost every position without much of a drop off.
But that’s how things look at a practice level. Just how good this defense can be will be evaluated once the rubber meets the road and games begin.
4.) Which wide receivers will replace all the talent from last season?
The Hurricanes are replacing four talented receivers in Xavier Restrepo, Jacolby George, Sam Brown and Isaiah Horton who combined for 3,004 yards and 26 touchdowns last season. Also gone is tight end Elijah Arroyo, who had 590 receiving yards and seven touchdown catches of his own.
No one player will replace all that production. But the Hurricanes seem confident that they have more than enough players as a group to still have a quality receiver room.
They added three veteran transfers in CJ Daniels (LSU), Keelan Marion (BYU) and Tony Johnson (Cincinnati). Joshisa “JoJo” Trader has potential for a breakout season. And true freshmen Malachi Toney and Josh Moore have impressed since they stepped foot on campus. Add in the likes of Ny Carr and Ray Ray Joseph, and that’s eight receivers vying for playing time.
At tight end, do-it-all sophomore Elija Lofton and senior transfer Alex Bauman are the most likely to be involved with the passing game, with true freshmen Luka Gilbert and Brock Schott in the mix for playing time as well.
5.) What to make of Miami’s special teams units?
Andres Borregales, UM’s career record holder in total points scored (405) and field-goal success rate (86 percent), is gone. Will Bert Auburn and/or Carter Davis step up to replace Borregales?Punter Dylan Joyce, meanwhile, was rarely used last season as the offense hummed.
One bright spot should be the return game following the additions of Marion and defensive back Keionte Scott, who should man kickoff and punt return duties, respectively.
This story was originally published August 24, 2025 at 12:14 PM.
.JPG)