Courtesy of Miami Athletics:
Each week this season, we’ll take a look at the game that was for the Hurricanes.
Here are some key storylines, numbers of note and quotes from Miami’s 52-3 win over Central Michigan on Saturday night at Hard Rock Stadium.
With the win, the Hurricanes improved to 4-0 overall and rose two spots to No. 4 in the AP Top 25 rankings which were released Sunday afternoon. Central Michigan, meanwhile, fell to 2-2 overall.
The Recap
After opening the season with three weeknight games – two of which were played on the road – the Hurricanes finally had the chance to play on a Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium.
And they made sure to make it a memorable night for their fans.
The Hurricanes came up short on their opening drive and found themselves trailing for the first time this season when Central Michigan kicked a 49-yard field goal on its first possession.
But after that, Miami scored on its next six possessions, the Hurricanes offense kept the Chippewas out of the end zone and Miami earned its fourth win of the season.
Two of Miami’s biggest offensive standouts – quarterback Darian Mensah and wide receiver Malachi Toney – continued their impressive starts to the season and helped set the tone for the offense.
Mensah, who came into the game as the national FBS leader in completion percentage, was accurate once again, completing 23 of 27 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns and Toney had six catches for a game-high 120 yards.
Some new faces stepped up and made big plays for Miami, too.
With running back Marty Brown out for the season and fellow back Mark Fletcher Jr. held out for precautionary reasons, Javian Mallory and Chris Wheatley-Humprey saw increased playing time and delivered.
Mallory scored Miami’s first touchdown of the night on a 4-yard run that capped a 9-play, 71-yard drive and Wheatley-Humphrey posted the first 100-yard game of his Hurricanes career.
He finished with 11 carries for a game-high 104 yards.
Miami’s defensive depth delivered, too.
Even without defensive lineman Ahmad Moten Sr. and with fellow lineman Armondo Blount limited, the Hurricanes totaled a season-high four sacks and eight tackles for loss.
Cam Pruitt led the defense with six tackles, while Marquise Lightfoot had four tackles, two sacks, 2.5 tackles for loss and forced a fumble.
“That first drive by Central Michigan, and credit to them first and foremost because they’re a really good football team. Very well coached, tough players, hard workers,” Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said. “But after that first drive, we got our cleats in the ground…offense scored on its next six possessions to really create separation there…But the penalties certainly were an issue and something that we have to work on and improve…By the seven-minute mark in the third quarter, most of our frontline players gave way to some of the other guys to get opportunities. They made the most of it. Proud of our guys for cheering the other guys on while they were in.”
Quotable
“Yeah, I think we’ve come a long way. I think we’ve shown a lot of good things, but like Coach Cristobal always says you know, we have a long way to go. Tonight, the story was our pre-snap penalties. Always happy with the win, but you know, there’s always stuff you can clean up as well.”
– Quarterback Darian Mensah, on how Miami has played through the first month of the season
“It feels great. I had to step up because Mark [Fletcher Jr.] was down and Marty Brown was down, so I dedicate this game to them. … It means a lot. I dedicate it to the running backs. Mark, [Brown], [Javian Mallory], [Jordan Lyle] and [Girard Pringle Jr.], they poured a lot of love into me. When I got my time to shine, I seized the moment.”
– Running back Chris Wheatley-Humphrey, on being called on to step up for some of his injured teammates and earning the first 100-yard game of his collegiate career
“It’s very important to see how well we respond to adversity. Well, I know God does everything for a reason, so the adversity He’s throwing at us, and just how to see we respond and how we take it. I feel like we handled it well [and] can do better with it.”
– Wide receiver Malachi Toney, on how the Hurricanes have handled some of the early-season challenges with injuries on both sides of the ball
“It’s just a 1-0 mentality. Every game, we focused on that game, that week. Now, Central Michigan’s over with, and we’re going to be focusing on Clemson and just [that] 1-0 mentality. We’re going to treat it exactly like we treat every game.”
– Defensive end Marquise Lightfoot, on the Hurricanes wrapping up the first month of the schedule
“A lot of arguments this week about who the best team in Miami history was. Those ’91 guys, as years go by, they got bigger than King Kong and Godzilla, man. Those guys just grow and grow, and their legends grow and they practiced harder than anybody else and made more tackles, but you know what they are? They’re my brothers and that’s the magic of football, especially at the University of Miami. I never could have imagined coming in, and man, that hits you hard now because we are as different and from as [many] different parts of the country as you can imagine…ethnicities, skin colors, languages, hair styles, and man, just absolute brothers for life. That’s what being a Cane is all about. The old school guys say, ‘It’s a Canes thing, you wouldn’t understand.’”
– Head coach – and former Hurricanes offensive lineman Mario Cristobal – on the 1991 national championship team, which was honored Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium
Up Next
The Hurricanes have wrapped up the first month of the season and will now begin an October stretch that features four straight ACC opponents.
The first game in that slate? A primetime, nationally televised showcase with Clemson in Death Valley on Saturday.
The Tigers have won three straight since opening the season with a 51-10 loss at LSU, including a Friday night 24-10 win over California in Berkeley.
In that game, running back Gideon Davidson rushed for 159 yards and two touchdowns, while quarterback Tait Reynolds completed 13-of-21 passes and threw for 108 yards. Cornerback Elliot Washington II had two interceptions, and the Clemson defense held Cal to 231 yards and a field goal.
The Hurricanes and Tigers have met 14 times, and the all-time series is tied 7-7, though Miami will be looking for its first win at Clemson since 2010.
Each week this season, we’ll take a look at the game that was for the Hurricanes.
Here are some key storylines, numbers of note and quotes from Miami’s 52-3 win over Central Michigan on Saturday night at Hard Rock Stadium.
With the win, the Hurricanes improved to 4-0 overall and rose two spots to No. 4 in the AP Top 25 rankings which were released Sunday afternoon. Central Michigan, meanwhile, fell to 2-2 overall.
The Recap
After opening the season with three weeknight games – two of which were played on the road – the Hurricanes finally had the chance to play on a Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium.
And they made sure to make it a memorable night for their fans.
The Hurricanes came up short on their opening drive and found themselves trailing for the first time this season when Central Michigan kicked a 49-yard field goal on its first possession.
But after that, Miami scored on its next six possessions, the Hurricanes offense kept the Chippewas out of the end zone and Miami earned its fourth win of the season.
Two of Miami’s biggest offensive standouts – quarterback Darian Mensah and wide receiver Malachi Toney – continued their impressive starts to the season and helped set the tone for the offense.
Mensah, who came into the game as the national FBS leader in completion percentage, was accurate once again, completing 23 of 27 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns and Toney had six catches for a game-high 120 yards.
Some new faces stepped up and made big plays for Miami, too.
With running back Marty Brown out for the season and fellow back Mark Fletcher Jr. held out for precautionary reasons, Javian Mallory and Chris Wheatley-Humprey saw increased playing time and delivered.
Mallory scored Miami’s first touchdown of the night on a 4-yard run that capped a 9-play, 71-yard drive and Wheatley-Humphrey posted the first 100-yard game of his Hurricanes career.
He finished with 11 carries for a game-high 104 yards.
Miami’s defensive depth delivered, too.
Even without defensive lineman Ahmad Moten Sr. and with fellow lineman Armondo Blount limited, the Hurricanes totaled a season-high four sacks and eight tackles for loss.
Cam Pruitt led the defense with six tackles, while Marquise Lightfoot had four tackles, two sacks, 2.5 tackles for loss and forced a fumble.
“That first drive by Central Michigan, and credit to them first and foremost because they’re a really good football team. Very well coached, tough players, hard workers,” Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said. “But after that first drive, we got our cleats in the ground…offense scored on its next six possessions to really create separation there…But the penalties certainly were an issue and something that we have to work on and improve…By the seven-minute mark in the third quarter, most of our frontline players gave way to some of the other guys to get opportunities. They made the most of it. Proud of our guys for cheering the other guys on while they were in.”
Quotable
“Yeah, I think we’ve come a long way. I think we’ve shown a lot of good things, but like Coach Cristobal always says you know, we have a long way to go. Tonight, the story was our pre-snap penalties. Always happy with the win, but you know, there’s always stuff you can clean up as well.”
– Quarterback Darian Mensah, on how Miami has played through the first month of the season
“It feels great. I had to step up because Mark [Fletcher Jr.] was down and Marty Brown was down, so I dedicate this game to them. … It means a lot. I dedicate it to the running backs. Mark, [Brown], [Javian Mallory], [Jordan Lyle] and [Girard Pringle Jr.], they poured a lot of love into me. When I got my time to shine, I seized the moment.”
– Running back Chris Wheatley-Humphrey, on being called on to step up for some of his injured teammates and earning the first 100-yard game of his collegiate career
“It’s very important to see how well we respond to adversity. Well, I know God does everything for a reason, so the adversity He’s throwing at us, and just how to see we respond and how we take it. I feel like we handled it well [and] can do better with it.”
– Wide receiver Malachi Toney, on how the Hurricanes have handled some of the early-season challenges with injuries on both sides of the ball
“It’s just a 1-0 mentality. Every game, we focused on that game, that week. Now, Central Michigan’s over with, and we’re going to be focusing on Clemson and just [that] 1-0 mentality. We’re going to treat it exactly like we treat every game.”
– Defensive end Marquise Lightfoot, on the Hurricanes wrapping up the first month of the schedule
“A lot of arguments this week about who the best team in Miami history was. Those ’91 guys, as years go by, they got bigger than King Kong and Godzilla, man. Those guys just grow and grow, and their legends grow and they practiced harder than anybody else and made more tackles, but you know what they are? They’re my brothers and that’s the magic of football, especially at the University of Miami. I never could have imagined coming in, and man, that hits you hard now because we are as different and from as [many] different parts of the country as you can imagine…ethnicities, skin colors, languages, hair styles, and man, just absolute brothers for life. That’s what being a Cane is all about. The old school guys say, ‘It’s a Canes thing, you wouldn’t understand.’”
– Head coach – and former Hurricanes offensive lineman Mario Cristobal – on the 1991 national championship team, which was honored Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium
Up Next
The Hurricanes have wrapped up the first month of the season and will now begin an October stretch that features four straight ACC opponents.
The first game in that slate? A primetime, nationally televised showcase with Clemson in Death Valley on Saturday.
The Tigers have won three straight since opening the season with a 51-10 loss at LSU, including a Friday night 24-10 win over California in Berkeley.
In that game, running back Gideon Davidson rushed for 159 yards and two touchdowns, while quarterback Tait Reynolds completed 13-of-21 passes and threw for 108 yards. Cornerback Elliot Washington II had two interceptions, and the Clemson defense held Cal to 231 yards and a field goal.
The Hurricanes and Tigers have met 14 times, and the all-time series is tied 7-7, though Miami will be looking for its first win at Clemson since 2010.
