A view of Allegacy Financial Stadium from the press box on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, before the Wake Forest Demon Deacons host the Miami Hurricanes in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Jordan McPherson
jmcpherson@miamiherald.com
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.
It’s another weeknight football game for the Miami Hurricanes.
The No. 5 Hurricanes (2-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) play at the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (2-0, 0-0 ACC) on Friday night at Allegacy Federal Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
Follow along throughout the game for score updates, thoughts, commentary and analysis.
Miami defense forces safety
Hurricanes defense, after giving up touchdowns on consecutive drives, just forced a safety.
Miami is up 33-20.
First safety for the Hurricanes since Sept. 11, 2021, against Appalachian State.
First in ACC play since Nov. 10, 2012, at Virginia.
Wake Forest not going away
The Demon Deacons have scored touchdowns on consecutive drives to cut Miami’s lead to 31-20 with 14:56 left to play.
Mensah’s perfection ends
Darian Mensah’s run of consecutive completions ended at 24.
Mensah’s perfection continues
Darian Mensah (so far tonight): 23 consecutive completions
Wake Forest (so far tonight): 23 total plays on offense
The latest completion: A 2-yard TD pass to Malachi Toney.
Miami is up 31-7 with 8:56 left in the third quarter.
Canes lead big at halftime
The Hurricanes are up 24-7 on Wake Forest at halftime.
Darian Mensah is a perfect 20 of 20 (a Hurricanes and Atlantic Coast Conference record for completions to begin a game) for 193 yards and two touchdowns. The run game has 110 yards as well. And the defense has held Wake Forest to 18 yards since the Demon Deacons’ opening touchdown drive.
Yeah. That’ll play.
Marty Brown hurt
Running back CharMar “Marty” Brown sustained an apparent right knee injury after a 32-yard run in the second quarter. He hobbled off the field with trainers on either side of him before eventually being carted to the locker room.
Miami scored a touchdown shortly afterward to push its lead to 21-7.
Moten returns
Good news for the Hurricanes: Ahmad Moten was back on the field for their second drive.
Miami promptly forced a three and out.
Mensah finds a new touchdown target
Darian Mensah finds a wide-open Elija Lofton for a 21-yard touchdown.
Mensah is 13/13, 120 yards and two touchdowns through two drives. On the season, Mensah has 10 touchdowns and just four incomplete passes.
Miami leads Wake Forest 14-7 with 13:07 left in the second quarter.
Wake Forest ties it up
Wake Forest responds with a touchdown of its own.
11 plays, 75 yards, capped by a 10-yard TD from Gio Lopez to Kamrean Johnson.
It’s the first TD Miami’s defense has allowed this season.
7-7 game with 1:22 left in the first quarter.
Moten hurt
Hurricanes fifth-year senior defensive tackle Ahmad Moten Sr. went down with an apparent injury two plays into Miami’s first defensive drive.
We will monitor where things stand as the game progresses.
Hurricanes dominate en route to opening touchdown
The Miami Hurricanes put together an absolutely methodical first drive to open scoring.
14 plays, 92 yards, 9-yard touchdown from Darian Mensah to Josh Moore. 7:33 drive.
Mensah went 9 of 9 for 65 yards on the drive, with five players hauling in at least one catch.
7-0 Miami over Wake Forest, 7:20 left in 1Q.
Lyle warms up
A notable development: Junior running back Jordan Lyle was dressed and did go through warmups at Allegacy Financial Stadium, which puts him in position to possibly make his season debut.
Four Hurricanes out
The Hurricanes have four players listed as out for the game in cornerbacks Xavier Lucas, OJ Frederique Jr. and Ja’Boree Antoine plus tight end Luka Gilbert.
Does this mean the potential return of running back Jordan Lyle, who didn’t play in Miami’s first two games while the team waited for the legal process of his August arrest to play out, is among us? We’ll see.
More on Nike deal
The Miami Hurricanes’ new megadeal with Nike — the most lucrative in the apparel company’s history which was formally announced Friday — includes a name, image and likeness component for UM student-athletes.
As part of the partnership, Miami is joining Nike’s Blue Ribbon Elite program, which the company describes as a “first-of-its-kind initiative that represents a broad portfolio of athletes across disciplines, reimagining the NIL space by providing schools and athletes an unmatched level of collaboration that prioritizes the future of sport and athlete identity.”
Miami Hurricanes schedule
Week 1 — Miami 45, Stanford 6: Darian Mensah threw for more than 400 yards and five touchdowns, Malachi Toney caught three of those touchdowns and had a school-record 234 receiving yards, and the defense held the Cardinal out of the end zone for a season-opening rout.
Week 2 — Miami 77, Florida A&M 7: The Hurricanes scored early and often in a record-setting win against the FCS-level Rattlers.
Week 3: at Wake Forest, Sept. 18, tonight
Week 4: Central Michigan, Sept. 26, Hard Rock Stadium, 6:30 p.m., the CW
Week 5: at Clemson, Oct. 13, Memorial Stadium, time and TV TBA
Week 6: Bye
Week 7: Florida State, Oct. 17, Hard Rock Stadium, time and TV TBA
Week 8: Pittsburgh, Oct. 24, Hard Rock Stadium, time and TV TBA
Week 9; at North Carolina, Oct. 31, Kenan Memorial Stadium, time and TV TBA
Week 10: at Notre Dame, Nov. 7, Notre Dame Stadium, 7:30 p.m., NBC
Week 11: Duke, Nov. 14, Hard Rock Stadium, time and TV TBA
Week 12: Virginia Tech, Nov. 21, Hard Rock Stadium, time and TV TBA
Week 13: Boston College, Nov. 28, Hard Rock Stadium, time and TV TBA
Pregame Miami Hurricanes reading
Need to catch up before kickoff? Here are the highlights of the Miami Herald’s coverage over the past few days.
‘We never feel satisfied’: Hurricanes strive for more after FAMU rout, 2-0 start
Five keys for the Miami Hurricanes in their road game against Wake Forest
Hurricanes’ Malachi Toney is ‘going to get his,’ but he also opens the field for his teammates
Swoosh! Canes agree to historic megadeal with Nike after 11 years with Adidas
Miami Hurricanes defense has dominated early. But one key element is lacking
Hurricanes freshman Javian Mallory wants to ‘make the most’ of chances. So far, so good
This story was originally published September 18, 2026 at 6:00 PM.
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Miami Herald
Jordan McPherson covers the Miami Hurricanes and Florida Panthers for the Miami Herald. He attended the University of Florida and covered the Gators athletic program for five years before joining the Herald staff in December 2017.