The Miami Hurricanes overcame a lackluster second half to beat the Wake Forest Demon Deacons tonight in Winston Salem, 33-20. The first thirty minutes of the game was great to watch on both sides of the ball for the Canes. However, Miami could not get anything going on offense after the first touchdown drive of the third quarter. Coach Cristobal’s squad also suffered a few injuries. A win is a win, but this one was rough.
Let’s get to the three stars of the game.
1. Darian Mensah
Miami’s new QB still looks great. The
stats: 30-34, 220 yards, and 3 touchdowns. Mensah had a few nice plays against pressure. He found Malachi Toney in space several times, but he missed several more. His passing was pinpoint, though most of that was in the first half as I mentioned. I don’t know what was going on after halftime. I do know Wake Forest coach Jake Dickert is a defensive specialist, but man, that second half was rough to watch. Back to the positive: Darian Mensah still has no turnovers and looks more than comfortable in Shannon Dawson’s offense.
2. Malachi Toney
The best overall player in college football looked awesome tonight…when he was on the field. Toney finished with 12 receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown. However, his play was limited in the second half due to some sort of discomfort he felt after stretching for a catch late in the second quarter. I assume Toney will be fine based on him still being able to play, as well as watching him run along the sideline after the game. Still, another 100-plus yard receiving day for Baby Jesus. I’ll take it.
3. Damon Wilson II
Tonight was Wilson’s best game so far as a Miami Hurricane. He had one sack, forced a third-quarter safety on a holding call in Wake’s end zone, plus caused a couple more holding penalties. I loved how much energy he played with. He showed some great bend and handplay against Wake’s tackles. This is the guy Miami fans expected to see. If he can keep up this type of play in conference games, Miami’s defense will look a whole lot scarier.
Honorable mention:
JJ Dunnigan – The true freshman defensive back tied for most tackles tonight with eight total. He had several QB pressures and did some nice things on the back end. This kid can play.
Omar Thornton – #0 was all over the place again tonight. He only had two total tackles and 0.5 TFL. But similar to Dunnigan, he was creating consistent pressure.
Ethan O’Connor – The cornerback caused Miami’s first turnover of the season with his fourth quarter interception to seal the game. O’Connor also tied Dunnigan for most tackles tonight with eight total.
Charmar “Marty” Brown – Thoughts and prayers for one of my favorite players on the team. I love how this dude plays offense. The play he was hurt on was a beautiful 32-yard run that led to a Canes touchdown. Let’s hope he gets back on the field as soon as possible.
Who were your three stars of the game? Let us know in the comments below.
