Miami is 3-0, and that matters. It also doesn’t mean the Hurricanes are finished being evaluated.
With the schedule about to stiffen and Mario Cristobal’s team a quarter of the way through the season, there’s already enough on film to separate the good from the shaky. Some parts of this roster look ready for a real run. Others still need to catch up fast.
Darian Mensah has been every bit as good as Miami hoped - maybe better. He arrived in Coral Gables with plenty of buzz after a standout 2025 season at Duke, where he helped lead the Blue Devils to an ACC championship.
Even with that backdrop, his early play has still been a surprise in the best way. Mensah is the most accurate quarterback in the country, and he fits Shannon Dawson’s offense cleanly.
He’s also not acting like the ceiling is anywhere close to reached. By his own admission, Mensah said the offense isn't where it should be and suggested the Hurricanes will reach additional levels.
That kind of production has helped unlock another huge piece of the offense: Malachi Toney. The sophomore is already making history look possible.
After posting 109 receptions for 1,211 yards in 16 games as a freshman, he’s currently on pace for 104 catches and more than 1,700 yards in 12 games. He already owns the single-game record with 234 yards and previously held the single-season records for catches and yards.
Now he’s chasing even more, and his five touchdown catches in 13 games have him threatening Leonard Hankerson's single-season record of 13.
The other encouraging sign has come on defense, where true freshman JJ Dunnigan has looked like a real difference-maker. Dunnigan was one of the names that kept coming up in spring and fall camp, and the Manhattan, Kansas native has backed up the hype.
Injuries in the secondary pushed Bryce Fitzgerald to cornerback and opened the door for Dunnigan, and he has taken advantage. In Week 3, he was a major part of Corey Hetherman’s nickel-based pressure packages and led the Hurricanes in snaps (68), tackles (8) and QB hurries (3).
He’s still just a freshman, and there are plays he’ll grow into as a 6-foot-3, 200-poumd athlete, but the early signs are strong.
Even with the 3-0 start, Miami still has some real issues to clean up. The biggest one in the passing game is that the Hurricanes haven’t found a reliable WR2, WR3 or WR4 behind Toney.
That showed up when Toney was compromised by an injury in the second half against Wake Forest and the rest of the receiving group couldn’t shake aggressive man coverage. Cooper Barkate has to give them more soon; he has 10 catches for 96 yards.
Dre Jacobs has only 2 catches for 38 yards, and Somourian Wingo has 4 catches for 86 yards. Those receivers need to become vertical threats.
The offensive line is another work in progress. Week 3 was the first chance for Miami’s starting five - Samson Okunlola, SJ Alofaitul, Ryan Rodriguez, Max Buchanan and Matthew McCoy - to play a full game together, and all 70 offensive snaps gave the staff a real look at where things stand.
The results weren’t clean across the board. Cristobal liked what he saw from the tackles, but the guard play was below average, and Alofaitul in particular had trouble in pass protection.
The starting five may not stay intact for long, and Miami will need freshmen Jackson Cantwell and Ben Congdon involved more if it wants to get the most out of the unit.
The defensive injury situation is also becoming a concern at multiple levels. Miami is down its top three cornerbacks, though the depth there at least gives the Hurricanes options in Damari Brown and Ethan O'Connor, both of whom bring experience.
Linebacker depth is a tougher question after the news that sophomore Ezekiel Marcelin will miss some time with a lower-body injury. Marcelin brought athleticism and twitch to the position, and Miami will need reserves like Cam Pruitt and Kellen Wiley to step up when their numbers are called.
In Other News...
Abella Danger Is Becoming A Hurricanes Sideshow Fans Can't Ignore
Abella Danger has become a familiar face around Miami Hurricanes football, turning up at games and drawing plenty of attention beyond the field. The University of Miami senior law student, who previously worked in the adult film industry, has found herself part of the conversation around the program as her presence both inside the stadium and online keeps circulating well beyond the fan base.
The latest wave came after a viral video in which she spoke about the way younger fans view her, adding another layer to a public profile that already stretches from campus to social media. She has also said she wants to build a future as an NFL sports agent, but for now her visibility has created a mix of curiosity and pushback, and she has apologized for any distraction the attention has caused. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Title Loss Just Got A Strange New Sideline Explanation
For a brief stretch in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Miami had a problem few coaches ever want to deal with in that setting: the headset communication went down just as Malachai Toney was scoring a 22-yard touchdown. It was a strange interruption in a title game already carrying plenty of weight, and it added another layer to a night that ended with Indiana on top.
The explanation has been even stranger. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said the disruption stemmed from President Trumps early departure from the stadium, and that account has been backed in part by multiple sources, including Indiana coach Curt Cignetti and Miami insiders. The outage only lasted a few plays and did not alter the final result, but for Miami it leaves behind one more odd detail from a championship loss that already had enough of them. [Read more 🡒]
Miami's Playoff Path Just Got Tougher Than Hurricanes Fans Realize
Miamis road to the College Football Playoff is about to get a little more complicated, and not just because of what happens on the field. Starting in late November, the selection committee will begin factoring in a conference-strength metric when it evaluates the field, adding another layer to the usual comparison of records, rsums and schedule quality. The idea is to give the committee more context when two teams have similar records but have taken very different routes to get there.
For the Hurricanes, that matters because the new approach is expected to help leagues like the SEC and Big Ten, while potentially making life harder for teams in the ACC and Big 12. Miami can still build a playoff case the old-fashioned way, but the margin for error just shrank. In a race where perception already carries weight, the conference a team plays in is about to matter even more than many fans probably realized. [Read more 🡒]