Monday Musings: Mali-Mensah mania; next man up for Miami

On Sep 7, 2026

Happy Monday, errrrrrrbody. And for the first time since January, HAPPY VICTORY MONDAY!

The Miami Hurricanes triumphed over the Stanford Cardinal 45-6, and as such, the 2026 run to No. 6 got off on the right foot.

Lots to talk about, so let’s get down to brass tacks.

1) The Miami Hurricanes have a…complicated Heisman Trophy problem. And that’s a great thing.

Malachi Toney went absolutely bonkers, setting the program records with 234 receiving yards. He is completely unguardable right now and the best overall player in college football regardless of position. Yes, put that in ink. His routes like crisp and sharp, and it even looks like he accelerates out of the break perhaps a step faster than last year.

And now he has a first-round talent throwing him the ball downfield in Darian Mensah. Mensah looked damned incredible. 27/30 for 401 yards and 5 touchdowns.

But for me it came down to two throws that really set the tone for his game, and it showed an NFL-level touch and anticipation that you just can’t teach.

I mean, that throw to Arroyo was put in a spot that a lot of NFL quarterbacks aren’t going to put it. And the back shoulder location to Upshaw on the touchdown was perfect and unguardable. You just don’t see that type of placement from many college QBs.

So now, I think the Hurricanes have two legit and strong Heisman Trophy contenders on their roster. And the interesting thing is that they will both be supplementing each other’s resumes every single week. Toney is a 100+ yard weekly receiving ATM machine. Take that straight to the bank. Mensah looks every bit as advertised for a $6 million quarterback, and between Toney, Cooper Barkate, Daylyn Upshaw/Joshua Moore and others, it’s going to be an explosive and potentially record-setting year.

The only thing I hope is that, by both drawing Heisman Trophy consideration, they both don’t lose enough votes for one or the other to get clipped by December. But hell, what a situation to be in for Miami.

2) The injury Gods weren’t too kind to Miami.

Starting CB OJ Frederique is out with a “pretty significant injury” that will keep him out for “quite a while”, per Mario Cristobal. That’s a tough break. Frederique went down with an upper body injury on Stanford’s first drive of the game, and he never returned. Damari Brown filled in, and I thought he acquitted himself quite well (even if PFF didn’t think so, as I noted in my piece from earlier today).

Will we see Corey Hetherman find a way to get JJ Dunnigan on the field more as a result somehow? They love him, and he looks like a special, special player in the making. I’m curious to see how this rotation looks moving forward.

3) Looking down the road a bit, but Miami’s game against Clemson might have created an interesting opportunity for the Hurricanes.

I thought Miami’s second toughest game of the year was going to be Clemson on the road, and it still won’t be a total cake walk per se. It’s at Clemson, and they have athletes, and anything can happen as such. But MY. GOD. What an embarrassment on Saturday night in Baton Rouge. That team stinks.

Someone pointed out on Twitter a reminder of how Dabo and his Tigers annihilated Miami and helped deliver the final nail in the coffin of Al Golden in 2015. Yeah, the game where they never went to the locker room. Perhaps a cruel bit of irony could be delivered by the 2026 Hurricanes, as Dabo’s seat is certainly more than warm after 7-6 last year and a horrid start this year.

Go Canes!

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