Miami QB Darian Mensah sets pair of ACC completions marks - ESPN

It was well into the third quarter, and Darian Mensah was a perfect passer off to a record-setting night while having fifth-ranked Miami's offense humming yet again.

In the fourth quarter, the Hurricanes' defense had to take the lead.

Mensah connected on his first 24 passes on the way to setting ACC records for consecutive completions, while Miami's defense came up with four straight fourth-quarter stops to beat Wake Forest 33-20 on Friday night.

«I think a ton of credit goes to the defense for just bowing up and executing at a high level,» Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal said.

The defense carried the Hurricanes home on a night that started with the offense rolling along with a vibe of near inevitability, starting with Mensah putting pass after pass on the numbers and hitting receivers in perfect stride to make big plays downfield.

Mensah ultimately completed 35 straight passes going back to last week against Florida A&M, breaking the ACC mark of 30 consecutive completions over multiple games set by North Carolina's Mitch Trubisky in September 2016. His 24-for-24 start broke the ACC single-game record of 18, held by three players, and was two short of the FBS record set by East Carolina's Dominique Davis in 2011.

Mensah finished 30-for-34 for 220 yards and three touchdowns, including a 9-yarder to Joshua Moore on the game's first possession and a perfect throw to the left side on Elija Lofton's 21-yard score.

He added a short touchdown throw to star sophomore wide receiver Malachi Toney as Miami (3-0, 2-0 ACC) took a 31-7 lead midway through the third quarter, only to see its prolific offense grind to an abrupt halt with four straight three-and-outs while seeing multiple players get banged up.

That ultimately gave the