No. 7 Miami is rolling into Thursday night with firepower everywhere, and the Hurricanes aren’t hiding what they want to do next: keep stacking wins, keep flashing stars, and keep the trophy hunt going at home against Florida A&M.
The spotlight again falls on Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney, two names that already look central to Miami’s season. Toney wasted no time in the opener, ripping Stanford for a school single-game record 234 receiving yards on 12 catches in a 45-6 win. He added three touchdown grabs and celebrated each one with Heisman Trophy poses, the kind of swagger that fits a Miami offense that picked up right where it left off after last season’s run to the College Football Playoff national championship game.
Mensah may have made an even louder first impression. In his debut as Carson Beck’s replacement, the quarterback passed for 401 yards, completed 27 of 30 throws and found the end zone five times. He arrived after leading Duke to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship in 2025, and Miami coach Mario Cristobal had plenty to say about what makes him so smooth.
"Energy and urgency," Miami coach Mario Cristobal said of what makes Mensah so efficient. "Complete command of the offense.
Great pocket presence. The ball was out quick, on target, extremely accurate.
Everything was just a guy that's very well prepared."
That kind of start naturally puts Mensah in the conversation as an early Heisman front-runner, and he has already slotted neatly into the line of recent Miami quarterbacks who came through the program with big expectations, including Cam Ward and Beck.
Still, the opener wasn’t spotless. Miami ran for 121 yards against Stanford, with Mark Fletcher accounting for 40, and Cristobal wants more from that part of the offense. The defense also gave up 221 passing yards, though it kept the Cardinal out of the end zone.
There is another layer to this week for Miami, too. The Hurricanes used 13 freshmen from their 2026 recruiting class in the opener, and that experience could keep growing against Florida A&M, especially with cornerbacks O.J. Frederique and Ja'Boree Antoine expected to miss extended amounts of time because of injuries.
Florida A&M arrives at Hard Rock Stadium on a quick turnaround after a rough Sunday in the annual Orange Blossom Classic. The Rattlers fell 31-13 to South Carolina State after a two-hour weather delay and never really found their footing on offense.
Their defense was pushed around for 292 rushing yards, and S.C. State finished with 479 total yards.
The numbers told the rest of the story. FAMU’s running game finished at minus-1 yard, and the team managed only 161 yards overall.
Starter Isaiah Knowles struggled badly, completing 7 of 22 passes for 94 yards before backup Dustin Fletcher stepped in and went 6 of 8 for 68 yards. The Rattlers also absorbed a combined five sacks, and their only touchdown came on Justin Bostic’s 80-yard interception return.
"It's just the process for us. Just coming in every day, focusing on little things, from the start of practice to the end," Fletcher said.
"And it's just making plays out of there to be made. There were plays, we left out there on the field.
We got the talent and the role. We just gotta go make plays, clean up new stuff."
This will be the 13th meeting between the schools, with Miami leading the series 11-1.
In Other News...
SMU Just Took A Shot At Miami's QB Debate
Rhett Lashlee has no interest in hiding how he feels about the quarterback conversation shaping up in the ACC. In an ESPN interview, the SMU coach put Kevin Jennings in the same breath as Miamis Darian Mensah, using Jennings yardage against a stronger opponent to frame his own signal-caller as one of the leagues top answers under center.
For Miami, though, the comparison comes with a little extra edge because Mensahs recent outing against Stanford was cleaner, with a high completion rate, multiple touchdown throws and no turnovers, while Jennings was working through a closer win over Florida State that included more interceptions and a lower quarterback rating. The two quarterbacks are still firmly in the mix as the ACC Championship race takes shape, even if their teams wont cross paths in the regular season. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Fans Have One Fair Question About This AP Poll Snub
Miamis rise in the AP Top 25 has been steady enough that a sixth-place vote one week and no mention at all the next stands out immediately. Brian Fonseca, one of the polls voters, left the Hurricanes off his ballot after ranking them sixth the previous week, even though Miami still checked in at No. 7 overall.
The omission has only added to the intrigue because Miamis point total would have moved ahead of Oregons if Fonseca had included the Hurricanes, which could have shifted the order in the poll. Fonseca has not offered an explanation, so the most obvious reading is that it was simply an oversight, but until theres clarification, it leaves Miami fans with a fair question about how one ballot changed the picture. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Commit A'mir Sears Is Fueling A Huge Recruiting Push
Amir Sears has already become one of the biggest early drivers of Miamis 2027 recruiting buzz. The five-star commit has played well to open the high school season, even as his team took a loss to St. Thomas Aquinas, and his presence has helped give the Hurricanes a class that is drawing national attention. He is part of a group that already includes quarterback CJ Cypher, another notable pledge whose long-term path remains a talking point.
For Miami, the bigger picture is how much momentum these early commitments can create as the cycle keeps moving. The Hurricanes are watching a highly regarded class take shape, and the interest around Sears only adds to the sense that this group could keep climbing if the right pieces stay in place. Upcoming games will give him more chances to build on his start, while the recruiting side of the story continues to carry as much intrigue as anything happening on the field. [Read more 🡒]