Quarterback Darian Mensah continued his elite start to the season on Saturday night, leading Miami to a commanding 52-3 win over Central Michigan. In two-in-a-half quarters of action, Mensah completed 23-of-27 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 21 yards and a touchdown on four carries.
Here are my instant thoughts and observations from the game, including more on Mensah’s electrifying performance:
- My favorite part of Mensah’s game is his processing. He reads the field so quickly, and this was on full display against the Chippewas’ defense. Mensah also utilized his legs to extend plays outside of the pocket and find receivers downfield. Through four games, Mensah has completed 88.7% of his passes for 1,211 yards, 14 touchdowns and no interceptions. He’s firmly in contention for the Heisman Trophy through the first third of the season.
- This is an incredible nugget: Mensah is the first FBS passer in the last 30 years to have more touchdown passes than incompletions (12) through his first four games, according to CBS Sports.
- It was nice to see a bunch of different receivers get involved early. Through the Hurricanes’ first two touchdown drives, seven different pass-catchers hauled in a reception.
- Malachi Toney was (as always) awesome. Six receptions for 120 yards. He should’ve had college football’s catch of the season, but a very, very questionable offensive pass interference flag called that play back.
- Speaking of penalties, the Hurricanes committed 13 of them, resulting in 112 penalty yards. Nine of them were in the first half. While a couple of the flags were definitely debatable, that type of sloppiness in a tune-up game is unacceptable. Right tackle Matthew McCoy – Miami’s only returning starting offensive lineman from 2025 – committed three penalties, two of which were false starts. This needs to be cleaned up ahead of next weekend’s showdown against Clemson (more on this game later).
- The offensive line was solid for the most part. Mensah was sacked once, but that was because of an errant protection pick-up by running back Javian Mallory. Luke Nickel was also sacked once when a free rusher came screaming off the edge. Otherwise, the pass protection was solid. The Hurricanes got decent push in the run game, rushing for 201 yards on 34 carries. There was plenty of rotation on the interior of the line, with freshman Ben Congdon and Georgia transfer Jamal Meriweather each spending time with the first-team unit. My only critique with the unit was the pre-snap penalties, which the Canes’ OL had four of.
- The biggest question I had for Miami’s defense entering the game was about its tackling, which has been subpar to start the season. Against Central Michigan, the tackling was improved but still not great. There were still plenty of whiffs along the perimeter.
- Edge defender Marquise Lightfoot had a pair of sacks as well as a forced fumble that was recovered by Damon Wilson II. For the season, Lightfoot has a team-high four sacks. Fellow defensive lineman Justin Scott also had a strong game, recording two tackles for loss.
- Backup quarterback Luke Nickel finished 4-of-7 for 33 yards. He didn’t make any spectacular, highlight-worthy plays, but he controlled the offense on multiple scoring drives.
- With Miami holding a 35-3 halftime lead, plenty of underclassmen had the chance to see the field in the second half, in addition to Nickel. Of note, running back Chris Wheatley-Humphrey ran for 104 yards and a touchdown, defensive back Ryan Mack totaled four tackles and a sack, freshman cornerback Brody Jennings recorded an interception and freshman wideout Somourian Wingo returned a punt for 42 yards.
- Next up, Miami will travel up to Death Valley to take on Clemson. The Tigers started the season with a 51-10 blowout loss to LSU but have since won three straight games, two of which were against ACC foes. I’ll have more to say about this matchup throughout the next week.
