Miami Hurricanes News: Canes up to No. 4, Cristobal expects Fletcher and Moten back

No. 4 Miami is 4-0 after a 52-3 win over Central Michigan and now turns toward Saturday night in Death Valley with multiple players expected to be back.

Injury news

Mario Cristobal said that running back Mark Fletcher Jr. and defensive tackle Ahmad Moten Sr. are expected to play Saturday at Clemson, and later Monday he added defensive lineman Armondo Blount and defensive back Damari Brown to that same expected-available group while leaving the door cracked for cornerback Xavier Lucas.

Fletcher and Moten sat through the 52-3 win because the staff did not want to risk anything after the pair came out of the Sept. 18 game at Wake Forest with minor injuries.

Central Michigan recap, rankings and Clemson

Central Michigan

Central Michigan kicked a field goal on its first drive and led 3-0, which was the last time the game was competitive. The Hurricanes punted once, then scored seven touchdowns and a field goal, finished with 572 yards, and they did all of that with 112 penalty yards.

Darian Mensah completed 23 of 27 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score, with all four of those touchdowns landing in the second quarter. Malachi Toney had six catches for 120 yards and an 8-yard touchdown, Cooper Barkate caught a 13-yard TD, Daylyn Upshaw caught an 11-yard score, and offensive lineman Jamal Meriweather recovered a Jordan Lyle fumble in the end zone for a touchdown.

Mensah has 14 touchdown passes, 12 incompletions, and zero interceptions through four games. The defense sacked Central Michigan four times, and held Angel Flores to eight rushing yards after the Chippewas quarterback had run for 163 the week before against Wyoming.

AP Poll

The Associated Press poll moved Miami from No. 6 to No. 4 on Sunday after Ole Miss lost 52-28 at Florida. The Hurricanes collected one first-place vote and jumped Indiana in the process.

Louisville dropped out of the Top 25 after a 30-27 home loss to Wake Forest, SMU is No. 21, and Duke, Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh all received votes.

What's next

Miami visits Clemson at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. The Tigers opened with a 51-10 loss at LSU, then beat Georgia Southern 22-7, North Carolina 28-20, and California 24-10 on Friday night.

ProCanes in NFL Week 3

The best performances through Sunday:

• Bills DE Greg Rousseau had eight tackles and two sacks in Buffalo's 24-16 win over the Chargers.
• Titans QB Cam Ward went 23 of 36 for 181 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in a 12-7 loss at the Giants. Ward threw a 4-yard score to Wan'Dale Robinson, but threw an off-platform interception from the 7-yard line on first-and-goal of the final drive.
• Panthers DE Jaelan Phillips played 60 defensive snaps in an 18-21 loss at Cleveland.
• Giants OL Francis Mauigoa started again as New York beat Tennessee 12-7 in a game decided by four Dominic Zvada field goals and Jevon Holland's late interception.

Monday night watch

The Philadelphia Eagles visit the Chicago Bears for Monday Night Football. Bears CB Tyrique Stevenson is expected to play after a hamstring issue kept him out of Thursday's practice. Stevenson has 14 tackles and one pass breakup through two games.

Around the program

• At halftime of the game against Central Michigan, the football program honored the 1991 national championship team.
• Miami's volleyball team defeated Florida State for its first ACC victory of the season.
• Men's soccer dropped a 3-2 home match to Clemson on Thursday.
• Left-hander Jessie Feast Jr. of Bishop Verot in Fort Myers and catcher Evan Alexander of True North Classical Academy in Miami committed to the Hurricanes.
• The baseball program also took a hit when right-hander Isaac Vidal of Miami Southridge, a top 2027 commit, announced his decommitment.

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