Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney will lead No. 7 Miami into a Thursday night matchup with Florida A&M, and the Hurricanes are determined to continue trophy hunting in the prime-time home game.
In the season opener last week, Toney set a school single-game record with 234 receiving yards on 12 catches in a 45-6 victory over Stanford as he and the Hurricanes (1-0) picked up where they left off during last season’s run to the College Football Playoff national championship game.
Toney struck Heisman Trophy poses after each of his three touchdown catches last week, but new Miami teammate Mensah might be the early Heisman front-runner.
Mensah, who led Duke to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship in 2025, passed for 401 yards, completed 90% of his passes (27 of 30) and threw five touchdown passes in a stellar debut as the replacement for Carson Beck.
“Energy and urgency,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said of what makes Mensah so efficient. “Complete command of the offense. Great pocket presence. The ball was out quick, on target, extremely accurate. Everything was just a guy that’s very well prepared.”
Mensah slid perfectly into the footsteps of his recent Miami predecessors at the position: Cam Ward and Beck.
It was not a perfect opening game for the Hurricanes, though.
As they prepare to face the Rattlers (1-1) for the 13th time (Miami leads the series 11-1), Cristobal is determined to get more from the running game. Miami ran for 121 yards against Stanford, but Mark Fletcher totaled just 40 rushing yards. The Hurricanes’ defense also surrendered 221 yards passing, although it kept the Cardinal out of the end zone.
Miami was able to play 13 freshmen from its 2026 recruiting class during the game, however, and could continue to get those new players valuable experience this week, especially with cornerbacks O.J. Frederique and Ja’Boree Antoine expected to miss extended amounts of time with injuries.
Florida A&M has a short turnaround from its last game, although it will play at Hard Rock Stadium for the second time in five days. The Rattlers, however, are coming off a disappointing performance against South Carolina State in a 31-13 loss Sunday in the annual Orange Blossom Classic.
After a two-hour weather delay, the Rattlers never established a rhythm on offense, and its defense allowed 292 yards rushing to S.C. State, which had 479 yards overall.
FAMU’s ground game was held to minus-1 yard, and the Rattlers had 161 yards overall.
Backup quarterback Dustin Fletcher relieved ineffective starter Isaiah Knowles, who completed just 7 of 22 passes for 94 yards. Fletcher completed 6 of 8 for 68 yards. FAMU yielded a combined five sacks, and its lone touchdown came on an 80-yard interception return for a touchdown by Justin Bostic.
“It’s just the process for us. Just coming in every day, focusing on little things, from the start of practice to the end,” Fletcher said. “And it’s just making plays out of there to be made. There were plays, we left out there on the field. We got the talent and the role. We just gotta go make plays, clean up new stuff.”
