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 No. 5 Miami’s 33-20 win over ACC foe Wake Forest on Friday night at Allegacy Stadium.
With the win, the Hurricanes improved to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in conference play, while Wake Forest fell to 2-1 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
The Recap
The Hurricanes came into their matchup against Wake Forest knowing the Demon Deacons would provide a test.
The Wake roster is filled with veterans, including Gio Lopez, a mobile quarterback with plenty of ACC experience. The Demon Deacons were a nine-win team last year and opened the season with a pair of wins over Akron and Purdue. And Friday night conference road games always have the potential to create a wrinkle or two.
For the first half, though, the Miami offense was virtually unstoppable.
Quarterback Darian Mensah, who came into the game as the nation’s leader in completion percentage, completed 24 straight passes to start the game, setting new Miami and ACC records for consecutive completions in a single game. He also set new Miami and ACC records for consecutive completions in multiple games with 35.
With the game tied 7-7 in the first quarter, the Hurricanes scored 24 unanswered points while Mensah continued his ascent in the record books.
It started with Mensah completing a 21-yard scoring strike to Elija Lofton. Then Mark Fletcher Jr. capped a 7-play, 79-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. Kicker Jake Weinberg connected on a 27-yard field goal just before halftime and then, on Miami’s first drive of the second half, Mensah connected with Malachi Toney on a 2-yard touchdown pass.
The result? A 31-7 Miami lead with 8:56 left in the third quarter.
That lead was big enough that some Wake Forest fans began making their way to the exits, but those fans, it turns out, would miss a spirited second-half comeback effort from the home team.
Wake Forest scored two unanswered touchdowns to cut Miami’s lead to 31-20 with 14:56 left. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes’ offense couldn’t find the same rhythm it had in the first half.
Miami punted on four straight second-half possessions and had a field goal blocked on another, which ultimately set Wake Forest up on its own 36-yard line with 4:27 left.
The Demon Deacons moved inside the Miami 25, but facing 3rd-and-10 on the Miami 22, Ethan O’Connor picked off Lopez’s throw, virtually ending any thought of a Wake Forest comeback and helping secure Miami’s win.
“We’ve got a lot of growing up to do and a lot of learning to do as well,” said Miami head coach Mario Cristobal. “But that being said, proud of the effort because no one ever stopped fighting, no one ever stopped working, and you get yourself a 13-point win on the road.”
Numbers to Know
89.9 – Darian Mensah’s completion percentage through Miami’s first three games of the season. That leads all FBS quarterbacks. Mensah completed 30 of 34 passes for 220 yards with three touchdowns against Wake Forest.
8 – Wake Forest defenders eluded by Mark Fletcher Jr. during a 17-yard run in the opening minutes of the second quarter. That run helped set up a Miami touchdown. Fletcher finished with a game-high 85 rushing yards and surpassed the 2,500-yard mark for his Miami career in the win.
3 – Sacks totaled by the Miami defense against Wake Forest. Marquise Lightfootand Damon Wilson II each got Demon Deacons quarterback Gio Lopez to the ground on Friday, while Armondo Blount and Ahmad Moten Sr. combined for another sack.
100 – Career victories for Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal. Cristobal, a two-time national champion offensive lineman who returned to lead his alma mater’s program in 2022, has posted a 38-19 record in his five seasons at Miami.
11 – Average points per game allowed by the defense through Miami’s first three games of the season. The Hurricanes are also holding opponents to an average of just 246.7 yards of total offense per game and 45.7 rushing yards per game.
Quotable
“I’d say that second half taught us a lot and I’m happy it did end out that way. We still did get the [win], but it’s just a lot to learn from, a lot to build off of. So, this next week in practice, we’re just going to continue to work and get better by going 1-0 every day.”
– Defensive lineman Marquise Lightfoot on what the Hurricanes can learn from the second half against Wake Forest
“It’s a wakeup call. We’ve got to be better. We’re not the perfect offense and we can improve on a lot of stuff, so I’m glad we faced some adversity there at the end.”
– Quarterback Darian Mensah, on how quickly a team can potentially take an opposing offense out of its rhythm
“Next man up. I think everybody’s a great player. They don’t come to The U for no reason. So, I feel like everybody can play and that’s what we’ve been showing.”
– Defensive back Ethan O’Connor, on how different members of the secondary have stepped up in the wake of injuries to multiple cornerbacks
“They changed up the looks a little bit, but nothing to the significance where we should be altered in the way that we were performing. I think a big thing that stands out, if you look at our third downs in the first half, they were manageable. The first drive, we had some third-and-longs we converted. But we found ourselves on those four drives [in the second half] having some third-and-longs due to [the fact] we didn’t run the ball as effectively as we were in the first half. Obviously, we suffered a couple of injuries, and we’ve got to overcome those. Marty [Brown] went down, Mark [Fletcher] was banged up. Malachi [Toney] was a little bit limited. So, we did not execute to the standard we were supposed to.”
– Head coach Mario Cristobal, on Miami’s second-half offensive performance
“We faced adversity [but] a win’s a win. It’s not pretty, but it’s better to be learning from a win as [offensive line coach Alex] Mirabal said than learning from a loss. Wake Forest played [well]. We have to give them their props. We’ve got to step up and not lag there, lull. But we’ll work on it, I promise you.”
– Offensive lineman Ryan Rodriguez, on the second half against Wake Forest
Up Next
After playing two of their first three games on the road – on weekdays to boot – the Hurricanes will return to Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday to face their next opponent: Central Michigan.
The Chippewas have won two straight since opening the season with a 38-7 loss to New Mexico and are coming off a 24-10 win over Wyoming on Saturday.
In that game, Central Michigan totaled 339 rushing yards with quarterback Angel Flores leading the way. Flores had 28 carries for 163 yards and two touchdowns. He threw just seven passes, all in the first half.
Miami and Central Michigan have met just once, in 2019, with the Hurricanes earning a 17-12 win.
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 No. 5 Miami’s 33-20 win over ACC foe Wake Forest on Friday night at Allegacy Stadium.
With the win, the Hurricanes improved to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in conference play, while Wake Forest fell to 2-1 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
The Recap
The Hurricanes came into their matchup against Wake Forest knowing the Demon Deacons would provide a test.
The Wake roster is filled with veterans, including Gio Lopez, a mobile quarterback with plenty of ACC experience. The Demon Deacons were a nine-win team last year and opened the season with a pair of wins over Akron and Purdue. And Friday night conference road games always have the potential to create a wrinkle or two.
For the first half, though, the Miami offense was virtually unstoppable.
Quarterback Darian Mensah, who came into the game as the nation’s leader in completion percentage, completed 24 straight passes to start the game, setting new Miami and ACC records for consecutive completions in a single game. He also set new Miami and ACC records for consecutive completions in multiple games with 35.
With the game tied 7-7 in the first quarter, the Hurricanes scored 24 unanswered points while Mensah continued his ascent in the record books.
It started with Mensah completing a 21-yard scoring strike to Elija Lofton. Then Mark Fletcher Jr. capped a 7-play, 79-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. Kicker Jake Weinberg connected on a 27-yard field goal just before halftime and then, on Miami’s first drive of the second half, Mensah connected with Malachi Toney on a 2-yard touchdown pass.
The result? A 31-7 Miami lead with 8:56 left in the third quarter.
That lead was big enough that some Wake Forest fans began making their way to the exits, but those fans, it turns out, would miss a spirited second-half comeback effort from the home team.
Wake Forest scored two unanswered touchdowns to cut Miami’s lead to 31-20 with 14:56 left. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes’ offense couldn’t find the same rhythm it had in the first half.
Miami punted on four straight second-half possessions and had a field goal blocked on another, which ultimately set Wake Forest up on its own 36-yard line with 4:27 left.
The Demon Deacons moved inside the Miami 25, but facing 3rd-and-10 on the Miami 22, Ethan O’Connor picked off Lopez’s throw, virtually ending any thought of a Wake Forest comeback and helping secure Miami’s win.
“We’ve got a lot of growing up to do and a lot of learning to do as well,” said Miami head coach Mario Cristobal. “But that being said, proud of the effort because no one ever stopped fighting, no one ever stopped working, and you get yourself a 13-point win on the road.”
Numbers to Know
89.9 – Darian Mensah’s completion percentage through Miami’s first three games of the season. That leads all FBS quarterbacks. Mensah completed 30 of 34 passes for 220 yards with three touchdowns against Wake Forest.
8 – Wake Forest defenders eluded by Mark Fletcher Jr. during a 17-yard run in the opening minutes of the second quarter. That run helped set up a Miami touchdown. Fletcher finished with a game-high 85 rushing yards and surpassed the 2,500-yard mark for his Miami career in the win.
3 – Sacks totaled by the Miami defense against Wake Forest. Marquise Lightfootand Damon Wilson II each got Demon Deacons quarterback Gio Lopez to the ground on Friday, while Armondo Blount and Ahmad Moten Sr. combined for another sack.
100 – Career victories for Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal. Cristobal, a two-time national champion offensive lineman who returned to lead his alma mater’s program in 2022, has posted a 38-19 record in his five seasons at Miami.
11 – Average points per game allowed by the defense through Miami’s first three games of the season. The Hurricanes are also holding opponents to an average of just 246.7 yards of total offense per game and 45.7 rushing yards per game.
Quotable
“I’d say that second half taught us a lot and I’m happy it did end out that way. We still did get the [win], but it’s just a lot to learn from, a lot to build off of. So, this next week in practice, we’re just going to continue to work and get better by going 1-0 every day.”
– Defensive lineman Marquise Lightfoot on what the Hurricanes can learn from the second half against Wake Forest
“It’s a wakeup call. We’ve got to be better. We’re not the perfect offense and we can improve on a lot of stuff, so I’m glad we faced some adversity there at the end.”
– Quarterback Darian Mensah, on how quickly a team can potentially take an opposing offense out of its rhythm
“Next man up. I think everybody’s a great player. They don’t come to The U for no reason. So, I feel like everybody can play and that’s what we’ve been showing.”
– Defensive back Ethan O’Connor, on how different members of the secondary have stepped up in the wake of injuries to multiple cornerbacks
“They changed up the looks a little bit, but nothing to the significance where we should be altered in the way that we were performing. I think a big thing that stands out, if you look at our third downs in the first half, they were manageable. The first drive, we had some third-and-longs we converted. But we found ourselves on those four drives [in the second half] having some third-and-longs due to [the fact] we didn’t run the ball as effectively as we were in the first half. Obviously, we suffered a couple of injuries, and we’ve got to overcome those. Marty [Brown] went down, Mark [Fletcher] was banged up. Malachi [Toney] was a little bit limited. So, we did not execute to the standard we were supposed to.”
– Head coach Mario Cristobal, on Miami’s second-half offensive performance
“We faced adversity [but] a win’s a win. It’s not pretty, but it’s better to be learning from a win as [offensive line coach Alex] Mirabal said than learning from a loss. Wake Forest played [well]. We have to give them their props. We’ve got to step up and not lag there, lull. But we’ll work on it, I promise you.”
– Offensive lineman Ryan Rodriguez, on the second half against Wake Forest
Up Next
After playing two of their first three games on the road – on weekdays to boot – the Hurricanes will return to Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday to face their next opponent: Central Michigan.
The Chippewas have won two straight since opening the season with a 38-7 loss to New Mexico and are coming off a 24-10 win over Wyoming on Saturday.
In that game, Central Michigan totaled 339 rushing yards with quarterback Angel Flores leading the way. Flores had 28 carries for 163 yards and two touchdowns. He threw just seven passes, all in the first half.
Miami and Central Michigan have met just once, in 2019, with the Hurricanes earning a 17-12 win.
