MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Make no mistake, Central Michigan coach Matt Drinkall has every intention of pulling off what would be a gargantuan upset this weekend when his team visits No. 6 Miami.
That doesn't mean he isn't a fan of the Hurricanes.
Drinkall — who counts some members of Miami's coaching staff as friends and mentors — raved this week when asked about the opportunity his Chippewas (2-1) will have on Saturday when they visit the unbeaten
but banged-up Hurricanes (3-0).
“They are not high-priced talent kids just there playing football, collecting NIL. That’s not at all what they are,” Drinkall said. "The Miami Hurricanes organization is a professional organization ... you could make an argument they’re the most talented team in college football. I could sit and then make an argument that they are more well-coached than they are talented and that their culture is as good as their coaching.”
That culture is going to be tested a bit this week, and likely beyond.
The injuries are piling up at Miami, which was already short-handed in the secondary and now have concerns with two of the team's biggest offensive stars — wide receiver Malachi Toney and running back Mark Fletcher Jr., both of whom were hurt in last week's 33-20 win at Wake Forest.
Miami also lost running back Marty Brown (knee) and wide receiver Joshua Moore (upper body) for the season after injuries last week, plus had defensive lineman Ahmad Moten laboring through what appeared to be a shoulder issue.
It likely means Miami will use some different personnel groupings at times this week, out of necessity. But that isn't dousing Central Michigan's enthusiasm coming onto this stage.
“When you’re playing against a titan like Miami, if you don’t play your fastest and you don’t swing your hardest and you don’t do everything right, you've got almost no chance," Drinkall said. "And then for us, the big part is we might not ever get to play in a game again where none of the pressure is on us whatsoever. So, our players get to really let loose in this game. You probably will never, ever get a play in an environment where all of the pressure is on the other team.”
Miami quarterback Darian Mensah has 11 touchdown passes and no interceptions through the season’s first three games. The last quarterback to do that — at least 11 TDs with no interceptions — through three games was Southern California’s Caleb Williams in 2023.
This is also the second consecutive season where a Miami quarterback has led the nation in completion percentage through three games. Mensah is at 89.9% so far this season; Carson Beck was at 79.3% at this time last season.
“I think I just fit in this offense,” Mensah said.
Mensah set a school and Atlantic Coast Conference record by completing 24 consecutive passes against Wake Forest (which gave him a 35-completion streak in all, going back to how he finished Week 2 against Florida A&M).
“I think the best part about him is that there was no sign of contentment with the performance,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “He knows that we have to get better, us as a group, him as an individual, all of us. That’s the only focus.”
Central Michigan last did the Miami double — playing both the University of Miami and Miami of Ohio in the same season — in 2019, losing both matchups that year by exactly five points.
The Chippewas do it again this year; they play host to the “other” Miami on Oct. 24.
Ball State was the most recent program to face both schools in the same season, going 0-2 in 2024. Notre Dame did it in 2017, losing to the Hurricanes and beating Miami of Ohio.
The most recent program to beat both Miami teams in the same season was Cincinnati in 2015.
Central Michigan is 2-20 all-time against AP-ranked teams, beating No. 18 Michigan State in 1991 and No. 22 Oklahoma State in 2016.
Its most recent game against a ranked opponent was last season, a 63-3 loss at then-No. 23 Michigan.
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