Fresh off a spectacular season that ended in a tough loss to the Indiana Hoosiers in the national championship game, the Miami Hurricanes are excited to show their Cinderella run was not a fluke with their upcoming season opener against the Stanford Cardinal. Players and coaches loaded up onto te am buses for their cross-country trip to open the 2026-2027 season on the road in Stanford, California. With sky-high expectations in Coral Gables to follow up on an incredible run to the national championship game, players were not stressed about the long trek across the country and eager to put in the work to returning to the big game. But before they can even dream about hoisting that trophy and avenging last season’s loss, Canes running back Mark Fletcher, Jr. said his teammates are solely focused on their next opponent. “The message that [Mario] Cristobal gives us is just taking that mindset, taking our Miami culture with us, packing it on the airplane with us, going to that trip, to be able to face great opponents like Stanford,” said Canes running back Mark Fletcher, Jr. “We’re gonna be mentally and physically ready to go.” For Canes quarterback Darian Mensah, Friday’s game against the Cardinal is a return to familiar territory. He grew up in central California, which is just a few hours away from Stanford. “Super excited for the opportunity. I’m going back home to California; I have some people out there but, you know, the goal is to just go 1-0, it’s a business trip so, yeah, it’s extremely exciting to go out and play another defense,” said Mensah. After former Canes quarterback Carson Beck declared for the NFL draft in the offseason, Mensah enrolled with Miami after playing for the Duke Blue Devils last year. While the team has had several months to prepare for the new season, head coach Mario Cristobal said playing on the road against Stanford will bring plenty of challenges. Stanford already started their season with a 37-27 win over the Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors on Saturday. They fended off a late-game rally by the Rainbow Warriors, who scored 20 points in the fourth quarter. “This game had our attention since January, I mean, it’s — we knew that we were going to have an opportunity to put together our very best team against an excellent opponent and, watching them, you know, I think when you play a game, you always have the advantage. They’ve played a game and even though we saw some of the stuff they do schematically, you could tell they have a very large menu. The personnel screams at you,” said Cristobal. Friday’s game kicks off at 9 p.m. EST. ...read more read less