MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. \u2013 Darian Mensah was almost perfect, again. And No. 6 Miami got through September with a perfect record, again.<\/p>\n
Mensah passed for 338 yards and three touchdowns, plus ran for another score as Miami capped an unbeaten September by topping Central Michigan 52-3 on Saturday night.<\/p>\n
Malachi Toney caught six passes for 120 yards and a touchdown<\/a> for Miami (4-0), and all four of Mensah’s touchdowns came in the second quarter. Cooper Barkate and Daylyn Upshaw also caught scoring passes from Mensah, who completed 23 of 27 throws.<\/p>\n \u201cHe spread the ball around pretty good, he extended plays, great pocket presence, protected pretty well,\u201d Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. \u201cA couple times when it got sticky, he found a way.\u201d<\/p>\n Even with only four incompletions, Mensah’s completion percentage for the season dipped. It’s now 88.7%, down slightly from the 89.9% clip he had entering Saturday.<\/p>\n Mensah \u2014 whose 5-yard scoring run capped<\/a> a 97-yard TD drive late in the second quarter for a 35-3 halftime lead \u2014 has 14 touchdown throws, 12 incompletions and zero interceptions this season.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ve come a long way and we’ve shown some good things,\u201d Mensah said. \u201cBut like Cristobal always says, we’ve got a long way to go.\u201d<\/p>\n Offensive lineman Jamal Meriweather was credited with a touchdown after falling on a fumble for Miami, which is unbeaten entering October for the fourth consecutive season. Javian Mallory and Chris Wheatley-Humphrey each ran for scores for the Hurricanes, who paid tribute to their 1991 national championship team in a halftime ceremony.<\/p>\n Jadyn Glasser completed 13 of 15 passes off the bench for 88 yards for Central Michigan (2-2).<\/p>\n Miami was without top running back Mark Fletcher Jr., out with an upper body injury. Cristobal indicated that he should be available next week at Clemson.<\/p>\n The takeaway<\/p>\n Central Michigan: Give the Chippewas credit \u2014 they were the first team to lead Miami this season. A pair of penalties and a sack thwarted Miami’s first drive, and Central Michigan answered with an 11-play series capped by Caden VanHuis’ 49-yard field goal for a 3-0 edge.<\/p>\n Miami: The real tests await. Miami has eight games left in the regular season, seven against Atlantic Coast Conference foes \u2014 the other a Nov. 7 game at Notre Dame that could have massive College Football Playoff implications.<\/p>\n Strange series<\/p>\n In a four-minute span of the third quarter, Miami reached the end zone four times. Only one counted. <\/p>\n Damon Wilson II’s 63-yard fumble return touchdown came off the board when Miami’s Marquise Lightfoot \u2014 who forced the takeaway \u2014 was flagged for unnecessary roughness after the turnover. Toney had a 12-yard scoring catch (a one-handed grab)<\/a> nullified when he was called for offensive pass interference, and Jordan Lyle’s score off a direct snap didn’t count because referee Garrett Dickerson was still explaining a flag from the previous play.<\/p>\n Lyle fumbled the ball on the next play, but Meriweather fell on it near the back of the end zone.<\/p>\n Up next<\/p>\n Central Michigan: Hosts Akron on Oct. 3.<\/p>\n Miami: Visits Clemson on Oct. 3.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here<\/a>, visit the Top 25 here<\/a> and see AP\u2019s full college football coverage here<\/a><\/p>\n Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. \u2013 Darian Mensah was almost perfect, again. 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