Canes Win 45-6: Instant Reaction From The Cave

One of the things that will become a common theme here in The Cave, will be our ability to completely overreact from game to game.

So this is a great spot to start.

Canes 45. Stanford 6.

There was A LOT to like about how this game played out. The Canes traveled across the country, something in itself, that has taken top teams down.

Throw in that it was the first game of the year, AND was on a Friday night, a day where the Canes have played down to their opponents in the past, and the recipe was there for the squad to come out flat.

All of those facts are really nice, until reality steps back in. And reality didn’t just step back in Friday night, it kicked down the door, and delivered a performance that said, the days of us overlooking opponents are over.

Miami set the tone early, when transfer star quarterback Darian Mensah connected with Canes all-everything wide receiver Malachi Toney for a 48-yard pass play on their first offensive snap together.

From there, the Canes piled on the yards and points, crushing Stanford into submission.

So let’s be honest about what we saw.

The offense is poised to be one of the best in Canes history. Overreaction to one game? Maybe. But would any of you bet against that after 60 minutes of football?

Mensah and Toney showed that the biggest obstacle between themselves and the Heisman trophy, may just be each other. Mensah was surgical with his ball delivery, poise in the pocket, and understanding of the offense.

Toney appeared unguardable. He finds open areas of the field better than any receiver has in team history. His knowledge of where the defense is at all times showed on his second touchdown catch. He caught the touchdown, then sensed where both defenders were, and skated out of the way, avoiding the hit, and causing the defenders to collide into themselves.

Did I think this performance was perfect? No. Far from it.

The defense appeared to leave some receivers wide open at times, and while Stanford was unable to capitalize on those openings, better teams down the road will.

The running game could not get going downhill. Head Coach Mario Cristobal mentioned “Muddy Yards” after the game, as something the team needs to clean up moving forward.

Stanford chose to crowd the box to stop the run, the result was a record-setting passing performance. So I am not going to overreact with the lack of the running game.

That will come in time. Mark Fletcher is the type runner that is going to have to get hit through the first half of the season, and then start running downhill in the second half, like he did last year.

Speaking of the running game, Marty Brown looked solid in his time on the field. Backing up Fletcher, Brown seemed to have the vision to see and hit the holes out of the backfield.

If there was one question coming in that stood out to Canes fans all offseason, it was, how would the offensive line fare. I would say that is a work in progress. There were times the line did a good job communicating and picking up the pass rush, and other times they struggled in both pass protection and run-blocking.

I am not as concerned with the line, as that will take some time for these young guys to gel.

Overall, it was an easy game to overreact to. After it, the Canes came out with the national media buzzing, and two early Heisman favorites. That is all we could ask.

They went West, and took care of business. And now they fly back across country, for their home opener, with a fan base licking their chops to see this team in action, in person.