Miami quarterback Darian Mensah is putting together one of the most efficient starts to a season in recent college football memory. On Friday night, he completed 30 of 34 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns as the No. 5 Hurricanes beat Wake Forest 33-20, improving to 3-0.
Through three games, Mensah has completed 71 of his 79 pass attempts. He has thrown 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions, numbers that have made him an early Heisman Trophy contender.
The Duke transfer, who previously played at Tulane, was nearly flawless in the first half against Wake Forest, going 20 for 20 for 193 yards and two touchdowns as Miami built a 24-7 lead. He completed his next four attempts to open the second half before finally missing on his 25th throw of the game.
That run of 24 straight completions to start Friday’s game set an ACC record. Combined with completions carried over from Miami’s previous game, Mensah’s streak reached 35 consecutive completions, dating back to the Hurricanes’ 77-7 win over Florida A&M, when he finished that game by completing his last 11 passes.
The streak fell one shy of the FBS record of 36 consecutive completions, set by East Carolina’s Dominique Davis in 2011.
Mensah opened his Miami career by completing 27 of 30 passes for 401 yards and five touchdowns in a 45-6 win over Stanford. The following week, he went 14 for 15 for 252 yards and three touchdowns against Florida A&M.
He hasn’t been doing it alone. Sophomore receiver Malachi Toney has matched his quarterback’s hot start. Toney caught 12 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown against Wake Forest, following a season-opening performance against Stanford in which he set a school record with 234 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Against Florida A&M, he added four catches for 96 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown.
Miami, ranked No. 5 nationally, will host Central Michigan next week as it looks to open the season 4-0 before returning to ACC play.
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