No. 6 Miami spent the afternoon doing two things at once: overwhelming Central Michigan and giving Mario Cristobal plenty to gripe about.
The Hurricanes rolled to a 52-3 win in Miami Gardens, Fla., improving to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the ACC, but the clean-looking scoreline came with a messy undercurrent. Miami was flagged 13 times for 112 yards, including nine penalties in the first half, and that was the part of the game Cristobal and his staff kept circling back to.
Even so, once the Hurricanes shook off their rough opening sequence, the game turned into another showcase for Darian Mensah and the offense around him. Mensah kept dealing, finishing with another 300-yard outing and four total touchdowns. He completed 85 percent of his passes before being pulled late in the third quarter, though that still stood as his worst completion mark of the season.
Malachi Toney kept his run going too. He finished with 120 yards and a touchdown, though one score was wiped away.
Former Duke teammate Cooper Barkate also made his presence felt, catching four passes for 47 yards and a touchdown. Mensah added a rushing score of his own and connected with Daylyn Upshaw in the back of the end zone for another touchdown, completing what the article described as his throwing hat trick.
The first drive set the tone in a strange way. Miami stumbled early, but from there the offense settled in and kept building while the defense began forcing the kind of plays that can tilt a game fast.
The Hurricanes’ defense produced three turnovers, including one scoop-and-score that got erased by a personal foul. That penalty was the night’s recurring frustration, and the main thing preventing an even bigger runaway.
Central Michigan did manage to score first, making this the first time Miami had trailed an opponent all season. After that, though, the Hurricanes allowed only those three points and never let the game back into doubt.
Miami also came out of the afternoon healthy, which mattered as much as anything else given the lopsided result and the physical churn at the line of scrimmage.
Next up is Clemson, fresh off a late-night road win at Cal. The ACC and ESPN have not announced the game time.
In Other News...
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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
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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 🡒]