Darian Mensah and the No. 1 Miami Hurricanes looked to keep their undefeated 2026 college football season alive on Saturday, traveling to South Bend, Indiana, to face Marcus Freeman and the No. 11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Miami was coming off a close call against Bill Belichick and the North Carolina Tar Heels in Week 9, improving to 8-0 overall and 6-0 in ACC play.
Mensah has made a case for the best quarterback in the nation during his first year with the Hurricanes. Through eight games, the former Tulane and Duke quarterback has completed 188-of-233 passes for 2,425 yards, 25 touchdowns and just one interception. He has also tallied 109 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
But against Notre Dame, Mensah was without his favorite target, wide receiver Malachi Toney, who was ruled out with a high ankle sprain.
Still, Mensah has emerged as one of the top quarterback prospects for the 2027 NFL Draft, with ESPN ranking him as the No. 2 quarterback behind Oklahoma State’s Drew Mestemaker. However, Fox Sports has Mensah sliding to No. 30 overall in its latest 2027 NFL mock draft, where the Minnesota Vikings are predicted to select the Miami star.
“The Vikings were the final team in...