Miami Hurricanes quarterback Darian Mensah is the current frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy this season, and on Friday, he showed why. In a 33-20 win over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons that ended up much closer than the blowout it initially appeared to be, Mensah was electric, throwing for 220 yards and three scores while connecting on 30 of his 34 passes. And he did so while making some school history.
Mensah started the game 16-for-16, which sets a new program record for consecutive completions to start a game, according to ESPN Insights. He actually ended up going even further than that, completing his first 24 passes in the win, according to Bleacher Report. If you're doing the math at home, that means he only completed six of his last 10 passes, but the fact that a 60% completion rate is a major step down shows just how incredible his performance was.
Through the first three games of the season, Mensah is now an incredible 71-for-79, good for a completion percentage just a hair under 90%. If you're curious, the record is held by Bo Nix in 2023, who completed 77.45% of his passes. If Mensah is somehow able to hold onto this incredible level of play, he'd shatter Nix's record.
And it's hard to say it's not possible, given that his top target is the excellent Malachi Toney. Toney, who has five touchdowns and 444 yards through three games, is himself a Heisman contender and has been spotted doing the iconic pose after scores. Last season ended with the Hurricanes falling short to the Indiana Hoosiers in the national championship game, but with the elevated quarterback play of Mensah and the returning talent of Toney and others, Miami is making its case as a frontrunner for the title.
Similarly, Mensah and Toney are making their cases for the top individual award in college football, and we may end up seeing both of them nominated come December.
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