Miami entered Saturday night looking to build on its undefeated start, and a 52-3 win over Central Michigan showed both the Hurricanes’ growing depth and what still needs to be cleaned up.
Here are four takeaways from the Canes’ win over the Chppewas.
Miami’s offensive depth is becoming a real factor
This Canes team has dealt with injuries throughout the early part of the season. They took the field Saturday without starting running back Mark Fletcher Jr., who suffered an upper-body injury last week against Wake Forest.
Miami Head Coach Mario Cristobal said after the game that Fletcher was healthy enough to play, but the team chose to hold him out as a precaution.
The Hurricanes also played without running back Marty Brown and wide receiver Joshua Moore, both of whom suffered season-ending injuries against Wake.
Those absences have forced Miami deeper into its offensive roster, and several players took advantage of the expanded opportunities.
True freshman Javian Mallory made his first collegiate start at running back, while Jordan Lyle saw his first action of the season.
Chris Wheatley-Humphrey also took advantage of an increased role, rushing for 104 yards on 11 carries to record the first 100-yard game of his career.
“When I got my time to shine, I seized the moment,” Wheatley-Humphrey said after the game.
Quarterback Darian Mensah highlighted the team’s depth.
“We’re deep, and I think those guys are also hungry,” Mensah said. “I think they did a great job of taking advantage of their opportunity tonight.”
Miami showed the value of its depth as starters become unavailable. The Hurricanes did not just withstand the absences – their replacements produced.
The receiving corps replaced production collectively
With Moore out for the season, Miami needed other members of its receiving corps to step up.
Instead of relying on one receiver to replace Moore’s production, Mensah spread the ball around. 11 different Hurricanes recorded a reception in Saturday’s win.
Daylyn Upshaw caught Miami’s first touchdown pass of the game, while Cooper Barkate and Malachi Toney also hauled in touchdowns. Toney led the group with six receptions for 120 yards.
Freshmen Somourian Wingo, Vance Spafford and Mallory each caught two passes as well.
In short, the Canes did not need one player to become Moore’s replacement. The production came from across the offense.
Toney attributed the success of the receiving corps to its consistency.
“The best thing about us, I feel like we’re very persistent in everything we do,” Toney said. “How we do anything is how we do everything, block and detect.”
Although the offense came up empty on its opening possession, it quickly found its rhythm. Miami scored on the rest of its eight possessions.
With ACC play set to dominate the rest of the schedule, having multiple reliable targets gives Mensah options as opposing defenses try to limit Miami’s top weapons.
Penalties remain Miami’s clearest problem to fix
While the final score was comfortable for the Hurricanes, Miami repeatedly hurt itself with penalties.
The Canes committed 13 penalties for 107 yards, including five false starts. Miami’s 97-yard touchdown drive before halftime also included two holding penalties.
While Miami cannot control every call, it can control its pre-snap and procedural mistakes.
“We have to clean it up and be airtight in technique and fundamentals,” Cristobal said.
Mensah echoed his coach’s concern after the game.
“We got to start faster, obviously, Mensah said. “I think our pre-snap penalties; we’ve got to clean those up and I think that’s the whole reason we kind of stuttered out the first drive.”
The mistakes did not cost Miami the game against Central Michigan, but similar penalties could stall drives as the Hurricanes enter a more difficult stretch of their schedule.
Cristobal frequently emphasizes that Miami has plenty to improve. This week, the penalty total gives the Canes an obvious starting point.
Corey Hetherman’s defense continues to suffocate the run
Central Michigan found some success on its opening possession, but almost none afterward.
The Chippewas scored their only points of the game on a field goal during their opening drive. Miami defensive tackle Justin Scott acknowledged that the defense lacked attention to detail early.
“That whole first drive, it was a lack of details. That was on us.,” Scott said. “So [it was about] just knowing what type of brand of football we played and just getting knocked in on those little details.”
Miami responded by shutting down Central Michigan’s offense.
The Chippewas finished with just 21 rushing yards and 158 yards of total offense. The Hurricanes also forced three turnovers, recovering two fumbles and intercepting one pass.
The defensive performance allowed Miami to turn to its backups early in the second half, giving younger players valuable game experience while limiting the workload of its starters.
After an uneven opening drive, Miami’s defense adjusted and took control of the game.
The Hurricanes got more out of Saturday than just another win. Miami gave inexperienced players meaningful snaps, showed its offensive production can come from multiple places and continued to establish its identity defensively.
But the 13 penalties give UM an obvious point of emphasis moving forward.
Now, the context changes. Miami’s final eight regular-season games come against seven ACC opponents and No. 3 Notre Dame, beginning with a road matchup against Clemson. The margin for self-inflicted mistakes will shrink considerably.
Miami defensive lineman Marquise Lightfoot summed up the Hurricanes’ approach to the next stretch of the season.
“Just 1-0 mentality,” Lightfoot said. “You know, every game we just focus on that game that week.”
