No. 7 Miami wasted no time making a statement in its first game of the season, rolling to a 45-6 win at Stanford behind a huge debut from Darian Mensah and a record-setting night from Malachi Toney.
Mensah looked locked in from the jump. In his first game as the Hurricanes’ quarterback, he went 27 of 30 for 401 yards and five touchdowns, joining C.J. Stroud and Dillon Gabriel as the only quarterbacks since 2021 to complete 90% of their passes while throwing for at least 400 yards and five scores in a game.
Toney was just as electric. He hauled in 12 catches for 234 yards and three touchdowns, breaking Miami’s old receiving mark of 220 yards that Eddie Brown set in 1984 against Boston College. That game is remembered for Doug Flutie’s game-ending Hail Mary.
Miami finished with 549 total yards and improved to 1-0 overall and 1-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Stanford, which had opened the season with a win over Hawaii, fell to 1-1 and 0-1 in league play. Davis Warren completed 21 of 41 passes for 214 yards, but the Cardinal never found the end zone.
No. 10 Oklahoma opened with a shutout of its own, blanking UTEP 51-0 in Norman, Okla.
John Mateer threw for 225 yards and three touchdowns on 11-of-17 passing, and all three of his scoring throws went for at least 34 yards. Isaiah Sategna III added a big special-teams spark, returning a punt 88 yards for a touchdown and finishing with 76 receiving yards on four catches. Oklahoma outgained UTEP 401-198 to move to 1-0, while the Miners dropped to 0-1.
UTEP got 49 rushing yards from backup quarterback Raymond Moore III. Starter EJ Colson Jr. passed for 52 yards and ran for 25.
No. 14 USC also put together a one-sided win, shutting out Fresno State 39-0 in Los Angeles.
Jayden Maiava was sharp throughout, completing 23 of 25 passes for 349 yards and throwing all three of his touchdowns in the first half. USC scored 23 points in the second quarter to seize control, and two of Maiava’s scoring throws went to freshman Trent Mosley on plays of 68 and 9 yards. Mosley finished with 104 receiving yards.
The Trojans moved to 2-0, while Fresno State fell to 0-1. Kennedy Urlacher helped set the tone on defense with two sacks, and the first one led directly to points. Backed up near its own goal line, Fresno State was pushed into trouble when Urlacher bull-rushed through a blocker and forced Bulldogs quarterback Jayden Mandal out of the back of the end zone for a safety, giving USC a 16-0 lead.
In Other News...
Oklahoma Just Got An Unexpected Late Boost In A Thin Secondary
A thin secondary got a little more help late in the cycle when Brent Venables landed a transfer commitment from former Wisconsin starter DYoni Hill. Hill brings a journeyman path through Miami, Marshall and Wisconsin, and he arrives with the kind of experience Oklahoma has been hunting as it tries to steady a cornerback group that needed more bodies and proven reps.
Jaydon Southard from Stephen F. Austin is another name worth watching as Oklahoma keeps working the transfer market for help on defense. The Sooners have been aggressive about adding depth where it matters most, and Southards fit could give Venables another option if the interest turns into a commitment. [Read more 🡒]
Red River Just Got More Personal For Oklahoma After One Transfer
The Red River rivalry has always carried enough emotion without any extra backstory, but the player movement between Oklahoma and Texas has given this years meeting a different kind of edge. Parker Livingstones move from Texas to Oklahoma adds a fresh layer to a matchup that already lives on history, bragging rights and every small detail that can tilt the week one way or the other.
Hollywood Smothers going the other direction only sharpens that feeling for Sooners fans, because these swaps turn a familiar rivalry into something more personal on both sidelines. Steve Sarkisians acknowledgment that some departures were made to create room for new transfers only underscores how modern roster building now bleeds into one of college footballs most traditional games, making the next Red River showdown feel even more charged. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Transfer LB Is Earning Praise Before A Very Personal Test
Cole Sullivan has settled into a useful role for Oklahoma as the Sooners continue building depth on defense, and his work in the 51-0 win over UTEP drew a little more attention than usual. The junior linebacker finished with one tackle and one pass breakup, and Pro Football Focus gave him a 71.2 grade, a small but encouraging sign for a player who has made his value by being athletic, reliable and quick to process the action in front of him.
Now comes a much more personal matchup. Sullivan is getting ready to face Michigan, the program he transferred from, and the Sooners will be watching to see how he handles a game that carries more meaning than the average nonconference date. He has been backing up at middle linebacker while fitting smoothly into Oklahomas defense, but this one gives him a chance to show how far he has come since leaving Ann Arbor. [Read more 🡒]