Canes Corner: Miami Crushes Stanford in Opener

It was the Mali and Mensah show at Stanford Stadium last Friday night as the dynamic duo led the Hurricanes to a decisive 45-6 win over the Cardinal.

On the Canes' first offensive play, quarterback and Duke transfer Darian Mensah hit sophomore wide receiver Malachi Toney with a short pass that he took 48 yards to the Stanford 29. Three plays later, on third-and-four, a 23-yard Mensah-to-Toney touchdown pass gave Miami a 7-0 lead.

On the Canes' second possession, Mensah led a 10-play, 63-yard drive that culminated with a two-yard touchdown toss to Toney for a 14-3 lead after the first quarter.

Mensah was 8-for-8 for 129 yards and two touchdowns in the opening frame, while Toney caught all five of his targets for 89 yards and both scores.

The duo connected for another score in the third quarter with a 47-yard Mensah-to-Toney strike that put Miami on top 42-6 and gave both a well-deserved rest for the remainder of the evening.

Both shattered long-standing UM records during the win.

Toney broke Miami's single-game record for receiving yards, hauling in 12 receptions for 234 yards and three touchdowns. He surpassed the previous record of 220 yards set by Eddie Brown in 1984.

Mensah set records for the most passing yards and passing touchdowns in a Miami debut. He completed 27 of 30 passes for 401 yards and five touchdowns.

The stars shone brightly for other Canes as well. Running back CharMar Brown ran for 37 yards on eight carries and scored the touchdown that gave Miami a 21-3 lead. Sophomore wide receiver Daylyn Upshaw brought in three throws for 30 yards and a score that helped Miami to a 28-6 halftime advantage.

Fellow California native and Duke transfer Cooper Barkate connected with Mensah on four passes for 67 yards, including a 34-yard third-quarter touchdown that increased Miami's lead to 35-6.

The offensive line, with 10 players rotating in and out, did not allow a sack and helped the offense average 8.2 yards per play.

The defense held Stanford to 78 rushing yards and fewer than 300 yards of total offense. Defensive end Marquise Lightfoot led the way with nine tackles, while linebacker Mo Toure added five.

With the early lead, Miami was able to substitute freely and give backup players significant snaps. Luke Nickel was at quarterback for 14 plays. Four running backs had at least seven carries. Eight wide receivers and four tight ends played, while 10 different offensive linemen saw 12 or more snaps.

The depth continued on defense, with 11 defensive linemen seeing action and seven playing at least 20 snaps. Six linebackers played eight or more downs, while four cornerbacks and nine safeties saw action.

All of that is positive, but there is a bit of worry.

Starting cornerback OJ Frederique left the field with an apparent arm or shoulder injury suffered while making a tackle on the second play of the game. As of this writing, there has been no update on his injury.

What is concerning is that of the three players designated out for the Stanford game, two are defensive backs who contributed to last year's success, Dylan Day and Ja'Boree Antoine. Hopefully Frederique will be back soon.

Kudos to the Hurricane backups, who combined to hold Stanford scoreless in the second half.

Both Mensah and Toney offered postgame comments.

"I was just eager to get on the field," Mensah said.

"It's been a long offseason. It took a lot to get to where I'm at today, so I was just ready to go."

"It means a lot, knowing how many greats played at this university," Toney said.

"For me to be the player to break that record and set a new one, it just means a whole lot."

"You couldn't draw it up any better," Mensah said of his connection with Toney.

"If you got one on one, if you're leaving No. 1 one on one, that's a problem."

Toney credited their quick connection to the work being done in practice.

"That just comes from our practices out there on Greentree," Toney said.

"Before we go 1-0 out here, we have to go 1-0 on Greentree. So, I just felt like we just put on display what we've been working on Greentree."

Head Coach Mario Cristobal was also pleased with his team's performance.

"I'm really proud of our players for traveling across the country, staying committed to their preparation and remaining focused," Cristobal said.

"We were efficient and productive on both sides of the ball."

Cristobal noted that Miami still has areas to clean up but praised Mensah's accuracy, Toney's route running and the performance of Miami's young offensive line.

Canes Corner agrees with Coach Cristobal's comments.

Last season Miami played its first game at home against Notre Dame and came out on top. The Canes travel to South Bend for a season-defining contest against the Irish on Nov. 7.

Your writer is not sure that the Canes are ready to earn that road win now, but firmly believes that if they stay healthy and keep improving their play, intensity and on-field communication, a win in Indiana would be very possible.

Miami's home opener was yesterday, one day after this article's deadline, against Florida A&M at Hard Rock Stadium.

On Friday, Sept. 18, at 7:30 p.m., the Canes play at Wake Forest on ESPN. The first Saturday game of the season will be Sept. 26 when the Central Michigan Chippewas visit Hard Rock Stadium for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff.

That's it for now. Be well all and Go Canes!