Darian Mensah threw for 401 yards and five touchdowns in his debut as the Hurricanes’ quarterback and Malachi Toney caught 12 passes for a career-high 234 yards and three touchdowns to lead No. 7 Miami to a comfortable 45-6 season-opening victory over host Stanford on Friday night.

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It was Miami’s most lopsided season-opening win against an FBS-level opponent since 2003 when it won 48-9 at Louisiana Tech.

The Hurricanes opened a season of high expectations on a high note after reaching the CFP National Championship Game last season.

Toney picked up right where he left off following his phenomenal freshman season as he struck a Heisman pose after each of his touchdown catches. But Toney may have company in the Heisman discussion if Mensah continues to put together performances like he did Friday. Mensah completed 27 of 30 passes and found Toney for scores of 23 and 2 yards in the first half.

They hooked up for a 47-yard score in the third quarter.

Mensah joined C.J. Stroud and Dillon Gabriel as the only quarterbacks since 2021 to complete 90 percent of their passes and throw for 400 or more yards and five or more touchdowns in a game.

The Cardinal (1-1, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) were unable to follow up a season-opening win over Hawaii, giving up 549 total yards. Davis Warren completed 21 of 41 passes for 214 yards, but was held without a touchdown.

Caden High’s six catches for 92 yards and tight end Benji Blackburn’s seven catches for 52 yards were two offensive bright spots for Stanford.

Charlie Eckhardt’s acrobatic fourth-quarter interception of Miami backup quarterback Luke Nickel was another.

But the Hurricanes did not allow a sack, and Stanford’s defense did little to rattle Mensah.

Daylyn Upshaw hauled in a 5-yard touchdown pass from Mensah to give the Hurricanes a 28-6 halftime lead.

Mensah would later connect with his fellow Duke transfer Cooper Barkate on a 34-yard touchdown pass with 11:51 left in the third quarter.

No. 14 USC throttles Fresno State in all facets

Jayden Maiava completed 23 of 25 passes for 349 yards and threw all three of his touchdown passes in the first half as No. 14 Southern California cruised to a 39-0 rout of Fresno State on Friday in Los Angeles.

The Trojans (2-0) overwhelmed the Bulldogs in the second quarter on both sides of the ball, scoring 23 points. Maiava threw his second touchdown of the night early in the quarter, finding a wide-open Trent Mosley after a play-action fake.

Mosley turned Maiava’s deep pass into a 68-yard score, accounting for the bulk of the freshman receiver’s game-high 104 yards. Maiava found Mosley for another touchdown later in the second with a 9-yard pass.

The two Maiava-to-Mosley scores bookended the first of two Kennedy Urlacher sacks, both of which led to USC points.

Urlacher’s first sack came with Fresno State (0-1) backed up near its goal line. He bull-rushed his way through a blocker and shoved Bulldogs quarterback Jayden Mandal out of the back of the end zone for a safety.

On his second sack, Urlacher jarred the ball loose from Mandal, setting the stage for a 2-yard Waymond Jordan touchdown carry just before halftime. The score sent USC into intermission with a 30-0 lead.

The Trojans’ Gary Patterson-coordinated defense overwhelmed Fresno State all night, holding the Bulldogs to just 116 total yards. More than half of their total yardage — 60 — came on the final drive, which the Trojans snuffed out on fourth down in the red zone.

USC’s late stand preserved the program’s first shutout since a 48-0 blowout of Utah State in September 2024.

Fresno State threatened only once before then, moving into USC territory in the first quarter before Prophet Brown intercepted Mandal. Mandal finished with 77 yards on 7-of-15 passing.

The Bulldogs quarterback found himself under consistent pressure, getting sacked five times. Alex Graham delivered a sack in the third quarter for USC’s second safety of the night.

Graham’s safety and a Deshonne Redeaux 5-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter accounted for USC’s second-half points. The Trojans started the night scoring on a 12-play, 82-yard drive that included a 31-yard connection from Maiava to Kayden Dixon-Wyatt on fourth down.

Dixon-Wyatt caught six passes on the night for 102 yards. Jordan led USC with 67 yards rushing on 11 carries.

John Mateer (3 TDs), No. 10 Oklahoma crush UTEP 51-0

John Mateer threw for 225 yards and three touchdowns, helping lead No. 10 Oklahoma to a 51-0 win over visiting UTEP on Friday in Norman in the season opener for both teams.

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Mateer completed 11 of 17 passes, with his touchdown passes covering 34 yards or more.

Much of the offseason focus for the Sooners centered on improving the offense after struggling for much of last season despite making the College Football Playoff. The changes were apparent early, as two transfers scored touchdowns in the first quarter and a third added a touchdown later.

The Sooners had runs of more than 10 yards on their first two plays, kick-starting a 12-play, 76-yard drive that finished with a 1-yard rushing score from Colorado State transfer Lloyd Avant.

It didn’t take long for Oklahoma to add another score, as Isaiah Sategna III returned a punt 88 yards for a score after the defense held UTEP to three-and-out.

On the Sooners’ next drive, tight end Rocky Beers — another Colorado State transfer — hauled in a 40-yard scoring catch, hurdling a Miners safety near the goal line to cap the play.

A pair of missed field goals in the first half kept UTEP off the board.

Lou Groza Award-winning kicker Tate Sandell hit a pair of second-quarter field goals to put the Sooners up 27-0 at the break.

Oklahoma hit the ground running after halftime, as Peyton Bowen forced a Tavorus Jones fumble that was recovered by Taylor Wein at the UTEP 34 on the first drive of the third quarter.

Two plays later, Mateer hit Sategna for a 34-yard touchdown.

Sategna, the Sooners’ leading receiver last season, had four catches for 76 yards.

Later in the third, Mateer hit Virginia transfer Trell Harris for a 48-yard touchdown.

Oklahoma outgained the Miners 401-198.

UTEP had another chance to score late in the fourth when the Sooners turned the ball over at their own 18-yard line.

But Carlos Arreola missed his third field goal of the night.

Miners backup quarterback Raymond Moore III ran for a team-high 49 yards, while starter EJ Colson Jr. threw for 52 yards and ran for 25.

Liam Boyd hits 5 FGs, Michigan State storms back to avoid Toledo upset

Liam Boyd made five field goals to help lead Michigan State to a 30-20 home win over Toledo on Friday in East Lansing, Mich, in the season opener for both teams.

Alessio Milivojevic went 26 of 34 passing for 247 yards and a touchdown and Cam Edwards had 98 yards rushing and a touchdown on 27 carries for Michigan State.

Toledo quarterback John Alan Richter was 12 of 21 for 196 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.

Trailing 20-19 in the fourth quarter, Michigan State drove 70 yards in seven plays and grabbed a 27-20 lead with 10:37 left in the game on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Milivojevic to Rodney Bullard Jr. and two-point pass from Milivojevic to Bullard.

On its ensuing possession, Toledo drove down to the Michigan State 24-yard line, but Reice Griffith missed a 41-yard field goal attempt with 7:50 left.

Michigan State drove down the field and took a 30-20 lead with 1:55 remaining on a 51-yard field goal by Boyd.

Toledo was stopped on downs on its next drive, and Michigan State ran out the clock to end the game.

Michigan State held a 19-7 lead at halftime, but Toledo surged ahead in the third quarter on a pair of touchdowns.

First, Richter hit Adjatay Dabbs for a 6-yard touchdown pass with 8:57 left in the third to cut Michigan State’s lead to 19-14.

Then Connor Walendzak took a handoff, got loose in the middle of the field and outraced the Michigan State defense down the sideline for a 71-yard touchdown run that gave Toledo a 20-19 lead with 13:47 remaining in the game.

Michigan State got off to a good start, holding a 10-lead after the first quarter following a 2-yard touchdown run by Edwards and a 32-yard field goal by Boyd.

After Boyd kicked a 42-yard field goal with 11:37 remaining until halftime to give Michigan State a 13-0 lead, Toledo cut its deficit to 13-7 with 7:50 to go in the second quarter on a 60-yard touchdown pass from Richter to Dabbs.

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