No. 6 Miami overwhelms Central Michigan 52 to 3 behind Mensah's four touchdowns

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (Gametime Press) Darian Mensah threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns and added another score on the ground as No. 6 Miami overcame an early deficit and routed Central Michigan 52 to 3 on Saturday night at Hard Rock Stadium.

Miami improved to 4 and 0 after scoring 52 unanswered points and piling up 572 yards of offense. Central Michigan fell to 2 and 2 with the loss.

The Chippewas struck first after forcing Miami to punt on its opening possession. Caden VanHuis capped an 11 play, 40 yard drive with a 49 yard field goal to give Central Michigan a 3 to 0 lead.

It was the first time Miami had trailed this season.

The Hurricanes quickly responded.

Javian Mallory finished a 71 yard drive with a 4 yard touchdown run to put Miami ahead 7 to 3 late in the first quarter. The Hurricanes then took complete control in the second.

Mensah threw touchdown passes to Daylyn Upshaw, Malachi Toney and Cooper Barkate as Miami scored 21 points through the air in the quarter. Mensah added a 5 yard touchdown run with six seconds remaining in the half, sending the Hurricanes into the locker room with a 35 to 3 advantage.

Mensah completed 23 of 27 passes and did not throw an interception. His performance continued a strong start to the season for the Miami quarterback.

Toney led Miami's receivers with six catches for 120 yards and a touchdown. Chris Wheatley Humphrey led the ground game with 104 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.

Miami's defense kept Central Michigan off the scoreboard after its opening field goal.

The Chippewas were limited to 158 total yards and just 21 net rushing yards. Miami also forced three turnovers as Central Michigan struggled to sustain drives against the Hurricanes' defense.

Miami added another touchdown in the third quarter when offensive lineman Jamal Meriweather recovered a fumble in the end zone.

Jake Weinberg connected on a 33 yard field goal in the fourth quarter before Wheatley Humphrey broke loose for a 35 yard touchdown run to complete the scoring.

Central Michigan used three quarterbacks during the game. Jadyn Glasser completed 13 of 15 passes for 88 yards but threw an interception. The Chippewas' three quarterbacks combined for 137 passing yards.

Miami finished with 371 passing yards and 201 rushing yards while averaging 8.4 yards per play. The Hurricanes did not commit a turnover.

The Hurricanes were penalized 13 times for 107 yards, one of the few blemishes in an otherwise dominant performance.

Central Michigan's loss snapped a two game winning streak and completed its nonconference schedule at 2 and 2. The Chippewas will return home to begin Mid American Conference play against Akron.

Miami moved to 4 and 0 and turned its attention toward ACC play following another dominant performance to close September.