Canes Corner: Miami Tested in Win at Wake Forest

The Miami Hurricanes (3-0, 2-0 ACC) were in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, last Friday night for an ACC conference clash against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (2-1, 0-1).

The Canes prevailed 33-20 but were not at their best the entire evening. Although every road conference win is a good win, this was not a great one.

For the first time this season, Miami showed some chinks in the armor. Miami had both record-setting performances and inexplicable lulls up in Carolina.

Quarterback Darian Mensah continues to rewrite both the University of Miami and ACC record books.

Mensah had completed his last 11 passes in the prior game against FAMU. In the Wake Forest game, he completed his first 24 passes. Both the 35 consecutive completions spanning the two games and the 24 consecutive completions opening the Wake Forest game set new UM and ACC records.

Mensah was 20-for-20 for 193 yards and two touchdowns in the first half alone. For the game, he completed 30 of 34 throws for 220 yards and three touchdowns.

For the season, Mensah is 71 of 79 for 873 yards and 11 touchdowns without an interception. What’s truly remarkable is that he has 11 touchdown throws and only eight incompletions this season.

Mensah was named ACC QB of the Week for his performance.

The injury bug has been hitting Miami hard.

RB CharMar “Marty” Brown had two carries for 35 yards. In the second quarter, he was tackled at the Wake Forest 1-yard line after a 32-yard run. He suffered a season-ending knee injury on the play.

WR Joshua Moore, who caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Mensah on the game’s opening drive, suffered a season-ending upper-body injury in the fourth quarter.

WR Malachi Toney, who caught all 12 of his targets for 114 yards and a touchdown that put Miami ahead 31-7, missed 20 snaps with an upper-body injury. Hopefully, Toney will not miss time.

Starting RB Mark Fletcher Jr., whose 1-yard rush in the second quarter gave Miami a 21-7 lead, was knocked out of the game in the fourth quarter.

Tight end Elija Lofton was carried off the field in the second quarter but returned for the second half.

Defensive tackle Ahmad Moten suffered a shoulder injury in the second quarter but was able to take the field in the second half.

Sophomore linebacker Ezekiel Marcelin Jr. will be out a “few weeks” with a lower-body injury. Marcelin is the primary backup at linebacker and will be missed.

The injuries were the negatives against Wake Forest that were beyond Miami’s control.

In the first half, Miami had five possessions, scoring three touchdowns, kicking a field goal and punting once.

Wake Forest went 80 yards on six plays to tie the game 7-7 on its first possession. On the next three possessions, the Deacons went three-and-out with a total of 13 yards on nine plays.

The Canes took a 24-7 lead into the locker room.

The second half started as a mirror of the first 30 minutes.

Wake took the opening kickoff and Miami held the Deacs to their fourth straight possession without a first down.

Miami went 56 yards on an eight-play drive that culminated with Toney’s touchdown, putting the Canes up by 24 six minutes into the third quarter.

For the next 20 minutes, it was as if a switch had been flipped.

Now, Wake Forest is a very good team, well-coached, stocked with veterans at every position and led by a great quarterback in Gio Lopez.

That said, Miami is presumed to be elite, and time will tell if they are. But down by those 24 points, Wake Forest grabbed the bull by the horns and took it to Miami.

The Demon Deacons took the ensuing kickoff and drove 75 yards on 10 plays, with a Lopez 23-yard pass to WR Jack Foley closing the gap to 18.

Miami could not move the ball and punted.

Lopez led the Deacs on a seven-play, 63-yard drive, and a 17-yard pass to WR Carlos Hernandez made it 31-20 on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Miami could only manage three yards on its next drive, and a great punt made Wake start on its own 10-yard line.

On third-and-10, Lopez dropped back into the end zone to pass and one of the Deacs was called for an offensive holding penalty in the end zone, which by rule is a safety, giving Miami two points and the ball.

For the third consecutive possession, Miami could not make a first down and punted.

Wake drove to the UM 14 but turned the ball over on downs after an incompletion on fourth-and-5.

For the fourth consecutive possession, Miami could not manage a first down and punted.

Wake had the ball down 33-20 with 7:14 remaining, and Miami’s defense woke up.

A second-down combined sack by Armando Blount and Ahmad Moten dug a hole, and Wake again turned it over on downs.

On fourth-and-4, Miami attempted a 54-yard field goal that was blocked, and Wake had possession on its 36 with 4:23 left.

The Deacons drove 42 yards on nine plays, and on third-and-10 from the Miami 22, their dreams were dashed when Canes cornerback Ethan O’Connor intercepted a Lopez pass that gave Miami the ball and the ability to run out the clock.

Canes Corner identified a couple of things that caused Miami’s ineffectiveness in the second half.

Foremost, the interior offensive line was neither opening holes for the run game nor giving Mensah the protection to go through his progressions when he dropped back to pass.

On the defensive side, there were obvious lapses in communication that led to wide-open receivers and a lack of discipline in tackling.

The defensive shortfalls should be correctable, although it won’t be easy with starting DBs OJ Frederique and Xavier Lucas out for a few more weeks.

The offensive line problems are more difficult.

Extremely talented freshman Jackson Cantwell, the overall No. 1 player in the 2026 class, might be one answer.

Blood was spilled in Winston-Salem, and big-time opponents like Clemson away on Oct. 3, FSU on Oct. 17 and Pittsburgh on Oct. 24 — both at home — along with road trips to North Carolina on Oct. 31 and Notre Dame on Nov. 7 will be sniffing that blood and hoping to feast.

Next up is Miami’s first Saturday game of the season.

The Hurricanes are the only Division I team that has not yet played on a Saturday.

The Canes face the Central Michigan Chippewas (2-1) at Hard Rock Stadium with a 6:30 p.m. kickoff on CW.

The Chippewas run the ball, a lot, on almost every down.

I’m told Miami is a big favorite in betting markets. Let’s hope the Canes come out of the game healthy.

The time and television information for the Clemson game will not be available until after Saturday’s game. Clemson (2-1, 1-0) is at Cal on Friday night.

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