No. 4 Miami is headed into its biggest test yet with a few more pieces trending in the right direction.
Mario Cristobal said Monday that running back Mark Fletcher Jr. and defensive tackle Ahmad Moten Sr. are expected to play Saturday night at Clemson, and he later added defensive lineman Armondo Blount and defensive back Damari Brown to the group expected to be available. Cristobal also left the possibility open for cornerback Xavier Lucas, who will be evaluated later this week.
Fletcher and Moten did not play in Miami’s 52-3 rout of Central Michigan after leaving the Sept. 18 game at Wake Forest with minor injuries, and the staff chose not to push them on Saturday. Brown also sat out against Central Michigan, while Blount is expected to be ready against the Tigers.
The Hurricanes kept rolling without them anyway. Central Michigan opened with a field goal and briefly led 3-0, but that was the last time the game felt close.
Miami punted once, then stacked seven touchdowns and a field goal on the way to 572 yards of offense. Even with 112 penalty yards, the Hurricanes never let the Chippewas back into it.
Darian Mensah was at the center of the explosion. He went 23 of 27 for 338 yards and three passing touchdowns, added another score on the ground, and put all four of those touchdowns on the board in the second quarter. Malachi Toney caught six passes for 120 yards and an 8-yard touchdown, Cooper Barkate added a 13-yard scoring grab, Daylyn Upshaw hauled in an 11-yard touchdown, and offensive lineman Jamal Meriweather fell on a Jordan Lyle fumble in the end zone for another score.
Through four games, Mensah has 14 touchdown passes, 12 incompletions, and no interceptions.
Miami’s defense did its part too, finishing with four sacks and holding Angel Flores to eight rushing yards after the Central Michigan quarterback ran for 163 the week before against Wyoming.
The win also moved Miami up in the AP poll. The Hurricanes climbed from No. 6 to No. 4 on Sunday after Ole Miss fell 52-28 at Florida, picking up one first-place vote and jumping Indiana in the process.
Elsewhere in the poll, Louisville dropped out after a 30-27 home loss to Wake Forest, SMU checked in at No. 21, and Duke, Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh all received votes.
Now the focus shifts to Clemson, where Miami plays at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The Tigers opened the season with a 51-10 loss at LSU, then beat Georgia Southern 22-7, North Carolina 28-20, and California 24-10 on Friday night.
The weekend also brought more notes around the program and beyond. At halftime against Central Michigan, Miami honored its 1991 national championship team. The Hurricanes’ volleyball team beat Florida State for its first ACC win of the season, and the men’s soccer team lost 3-2 at home to Clemson on Thursday.
In recruiting news, left-hander Jessie Feast Jr. of Bishop Verot in Fort Myers and catcher Evan Alexander of True North Classical Academy in Miami committed to Miami.
And in the NFL, several former Hurricanes turned in notable performances in Week 3. Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau posted eight tackles and two sacks in Buffalo’s 24-16 win over the Chargers.
Titans quarterback Cam Ward went 23 of 36 for 181 yards, one touchdown and one interception in a 12-7 loss at the Giants, including a 4-yard touchdown pass to Wan’Dale Robinson and an off-platform interception from the 7-yard line on first-and-goal in the final drive. Panthers defensive end Jaelan Phillips played 60 defensive snaps in an 18-21 loss at Cleveland, while Giants offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa started again in New York’s 12-7 win over Tennessee, a game decided by four Dominic Zvada field goals and Jevon Holland’s late interception.
Monday night brings one more NFL note: the Philadelphia Eagles visit the Chicago Bears, and Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson is expected to play after a hamstring issue kept him out of Thursday’s practice. Stevenson has 14 tackles and one pass breakup through two games.
In Other News...
Clemson Just Got A Tougher Miami Test Than Expected
Miami got a welcome update heading into its matchup with Clemson, with coach Mario Cristobal saying running back Mark Fletcher Jr. and defensive tackle Ahmad Moten Sr. are expected to be available. Both had been held out of the previous game after picking up minor injuries against Wake Forest, leaving the Hurricanes a little thinner than usual in two important spots.
Now, those absences appear to be short-lived, and that matters in a game where Miami will want as much stability as possible on both sides of the ball. Fletcher gives the Hurricanes another option in the backfield, while Motens presence up front helps a defense that will be tested in a big way, even as Cristobal says both players are healthy and ready to go. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Suddenly Has A Real RB2 Debate Before Clemson
Chris Wheatley-Humphrey gave Miami something to think about in the win over Central Michigan, turning 11 carries into more than 100 yards and a touchdown while Mark Fletcher Jr. was held out to get ready for Clemson. The timing matters because the Hurricanes have been searching for clarity behind their feature back, and the latest outing only sharpened the conversation. When a reserve back puts together that kind of performance, it changes how a depth chart looks heading into a much bigger stage.
Mario Cristobal said Fletcher was rested with Clemson in mind, and Miami appears headed toward a committee approach for the RB2 role anyway. Wheatley-Humphrey, Girard Pringle and Jordan Lyle are all in the mix, which gives the Hurricanes options but also leaves the pecking order unsettled. Against a defense like Clemsons, the question is not just who gets the next carry, but who can earn the staffs trust when the game gets tight. [Read more 🡒]
Cristobal Put Miamis Clemson Focus On Two Issues After Blowout Win
After Miamis 52-3 rout of Central Michigan, the focus inside the program quickly shifted from the lopsided final to the details that matter next. The Hurricanes piled up 572 yards and forced three turnovers, with Darian Mensah sharp through the air and Malachi Toney continuing to give the offense a big-play presence, but head coach Mario Cristobal spent his media time zeroing in on how the game was managed and how the roster was rotated.
Clemson is the real measuring stick ahead, and Cristobals message after the win centered on two issues that will shape how prepared Miami looks when that one arrives. The matchup is already looming as a major test for a team that handled Central Michigan with ease, and the attention now is on whether the Canes can keep the same edge while tightening the pieces that matter most in a bigger game. [Read more 🡒]