Cote: Hurricanes show flaws but survive first real test, win 33-20 at Wake | Opinion

Two thoughts bubbling up from the No. 5 Miami Hurricanes‘ 33-20 victory at Wake Forest on Friday night:

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1) Quarterback Darian Mensah and this pass offense might be the best in UM history, which is saying a lot, and saying it early.

2) We still don’t know how great this Canes team is. Know it’s really good. No doubt. But don’t know yet if its first-national-championship-since-2001 great.

The good stuff first. Mensah is insane; rather, his early season performance is. He was the Heisman Trophy betting favorite entering this ACC game, and his flex in Winston-Salem, N.C. didn’t hurt. He was 24-for-24 — two off the major-college record for consecutive completions — before his first misfire late in the third quarter. This transfer from Duke is more accurate than a ballistic missile.

Now the questionable stuff. UM in its early-season schedule had feasted on two opponents not prepared or able to compete, and one, in Wake Forest, that wasn’t supposed to (three-touchdown underdog), but did. . Another lightweight is on-deck in Central Michigan. Then Miami’s first real test will be Oct. 3 at Clemson, with the Canes presently a mere seven-point favorite.

Miami’s Mensah-led offense seems awesome. But the defense? It was plenty good enough for Stanford and Florida A&M, but then was unexpectedly challenged by Wake Forest. Now let’s see at Clemson, and then later at Notre Dame.

This is the problem when high hopes are the highest hopes.

After reaching but losing in the College Football Playoff national championship game last season, at home at Hard Rock Stadium to Indiana, there is no next rung up the ladder for Coach Mario Cristobal except to deliver UM’s long-elusive sixth national title and first since 2001.

Wake Forest, though 2-0, had been 1-68 all-time entering Friday vs. Associated Press Top 10 teams, its only win in 1946.

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Yet, after winning its first two games by a combined 122-13, Miami on Friday had to sweat a bit vs. this ACC opponent.

Didn’t seem so at 31-7. Mensah had tossed three TD passes including one to Malachi Toney a day after his 19th birthday, wrapped around a Mark Fletcher Jr. scoring run.

But the game turned.

Miami’s fireworks offense turned mortal. And the defense showed its flaws. Few teams can lose two defensive linemen to the first round of the NFL Draft and not take a hit. Miamis’ has. And the Canes’ secondary, bitten by injuries, also has shown vulnerability. Miami caught some breaks via Wake Forest penalties.

There was not a thought at any point Friday that the Canes might lose. But after that 31-7 lead, there was a thought that Miami looked like just a very good team, but perhaps not an infallible one. Then again, what seemed minor injures to Toney and Fletcher didn’t help.

Another creampuff opponent on deck in Central Michigan — blessedly UM’s first Saturday game of ‘26 — then the schedule turns interesting.

Friday night did nothing to rule out Miami as a national championship contender.

It only verified that the path — soft schedule or not — is never as easy as it might seem.

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