Miami remains unbeaten as it returns home to host Central Michigan on Saturday night in Miami Gardens, Fla.
But the No. 6-ranked Hurricanes (3-0) have not come through the first three weeks unscathed, especially when it comes to the health of their roster.
Miami coach Mario Cristobal said Monday that two more key offensive players — running back CharMar Brown and wide receiver Joshua Moore — suffered season-ending injuries in Friday’s 33-20 win at Wake Forest.
Brown suffered a right knee injury as he was tackled at the end of a 32-yard run that set up a second-quarter touchdown.
Moore, who had seven catches for 107 yards this season, sustained an upper-body injury, per Cristobal. Linebacker Ezekiel Marcelin Jr. also is expected to miss multiple weeks with a lower-body injury.
“If you look around college football today, a lot of people are receiving not the best news in the world, and we got hit by it,” Cristobal said Monday afternoon.
The Hurricanes’ defense made four straight key stops to seal last week’s win despite being without injured cornerbacks Xavier Lucas, Ja’Boree Antoine and OJ Frederique Jr.
On the plus side for Miami as it heads into its second-ever matchup against the Chippewas (2-1), Cristobal said he expects Heisman Trophy candidate Malachi Toney, a receiver, and starting running back Mark Fletcher Jr. to be available, and that running back Jordan Lyle is in a position to make his season debut.
“Everything looks favorable,” Cristobal said.
Miami hopes quarterback Darian Mensah, who broke an ACC record by completing his first 24 passes last week, can lead the Hurricanes to a 4-0 start for the fourth consecutive season. Mensah’s 89.9% completion rate (71 of 79) leads the nation and his 11 touchdown passes are the most in the FBS among quarterbacks without an interception.
Central Michigan, which lost its only previous meeting with Miami in 2019, enters the week as a 41.5-point underdog but is coming off its best performance of the season, a 24-10 win over Wyoming. The Chippewas picked up 339 yards on the ground, backed by their signature quarterback run scheme. It was Central Michigan’s highest rushing total since gaining 352 yards against New Mexico State on Oct. 12, 2019.
Quarterback Angel Flores led the effort, rushing for a career-high 163 yards on 28 carries.
Flores had been splitting time behind center with Jadyn Glasser and Marcus Beamon during the Chippewas’ first two games. But against Wyoming, Flores took all 66 snaps.
“Angel, he’s like having an extra coach on the field,” Central Michigan coach Matt Drinkall said. “I mean, he just gets you into the right plays. You don’t run bad plays with him. He makes the right reads all the time. … Those other (quarterbacks) are great. But Angel just has kind of that calming presence. (Offensive coordinator Jim) Chapin and Angel see everything eye-to-eye and perfectly.”
Central Michigan allowed 342 total yards to Wyoming despite the win. Linebacker Xavier White, who had a career-best 11 tackles against Wyoming, knows the Chippewas will need a much better effort to have a chance of competing against a Miami offense that ranks third in the nation in points per game and fifth in passing yards per game.
“I think today was a great showing of putting all three phases together, but obviously we’ve got to keep stacking,” White said. “This is not the highest we’ll go. We’ve just got to keep stacking from here.”