What We Learned From Miami’s Offensive Line Against Central Michigan
In this story:
Miami’s 52-3 win over Central Michigan was never going to tell us whether this rebuilt offensive line is championship-ready. What Saturday did answer was whether Mario Cristobal and Alex Mirabal were still willing to keep searching, and they were.
After three weeks of the same five, the Hurricanes mixed combinations, gave some young players and transfer players more first-team work, and potentially learned a lot about the unit.
It did not start great as Miami punted on its opening series. There was a sack and a couple of pre-snap penalties. For a few minutes, Central Michigan led 3-0, which was the first deficit of Miami’s season.
“We did have some holding calls tonight, and a couple of them down the field, which we got to clean that up,” Mario Cristobal said postgame.
“You know, we got to do a better job coaching it. We've got to do a better job running our feet through contact, keeping our hands inside, and being, again, less guilty of penalties.”
Then the Hurricanes scored on eight straight possessions. Darian Mensah finished 23-of-27 for 338 yards and three passing touchdowns, plus a rushing score, as he credited the protection for the night he had.
He was dealt with different combinations on the offensive line throughout the game, and Miami may have found a solution to one of their problems.
The guard experiment may have found a solution
The starting five against Central Michigan stayed the same. Samson Okunlola was at left tackle, SJ Alofaituli at left guard, Ryan Rodriguez at center, Max Buchanan at right guard, and Matthew McCoy at right tackle.
By the second drive, true freshman Ben Congdon was in at left guard for Alofaituli. The run game immediately looked more physical. Miami walked down the field and scored. From there, Congdon and Alofaituli traded series, but Congdon finished with 46 snaps, all at left guard, and had his best game of the season. He struggled against Stanford and FAMU to the point where he didn’t even see the field against Wake Forest.
Congdon’s effort was a lot better, and the tape showed a new and improved young player. He took the majority of the snaps at that position and could potentially be the new starting left guard for the Hurricanes.
Freshman OL Ben Congdon made the most of his opportunity last night:
— Geo Milian (@GeoMilian) September 27, 2026
🙌 73.6 Offensive Grade
🙌 72.8 Run Blocking Grade
🙌 77.6 Pass Blocking Grade
🙌 47 Total Snaps (1 in backfield) pic.twitter.com/T9f6B9hvzW
On the flip side, Alofaituli played 41 snaps, including 26 at left guard and 15 at center once the backups were in. That is a real shift, especially him taking snaps at center. His performances have been well-documented to begin the season, as he has not been great to start the year.
Jamal Meriweather, the Georgia transfer, also got first-team work. He logged 28 snaps, 17 at right guard, and 10 at right tackle. He even scored the most memorable touchdown of the night, falling on Jordan Lyle’s goal-line fumble.
Cristobal’s postgame comments on them were insightful.
“Ben and Jamal both tonight got reps with the ones. They were alternating every other series,” he said. “I thought S.J., Max, Ben, and Jamal, at least out there just seeing it with the naked eye, it was a lot of— created a lot of movement up front, created some vertical push.”
It’ll be interesting to see who gets the starting nod from the coaching staff this weekend at Clemson.
The total snap counts for the offensive line
Against Central Michigan, here were the total snaps played by position:
- Left Tackle - Samson Okunlola 57 snaps, Jackson Cantwell 16 snaps
- Left Guard - Ben Congdon 46 snaps, Seuseu Alofaituli 26 snaps
- Center - Ryan Rodriguez 58 snaps, Seuseu Alofaituli 15 snaps
- Right Guard - Max Buchanan 56 snaps, Jamal Meriweather 17 snaps
- Right Tackle - Matthew McCoy 58 snaps, Jamal Meriweather 10 snaps, Jacob Hawks 5 snaps
The right guard spot has been Buchanan’s to lose, and he played well on Saturday night. Meriweather played right guard for the first time this season, as he only saw snaps at left tackle in the first two games of the season. If he continues to develop as a right guard, there may be a battle looming for that spot. He looked the best he has been all season, and it will be interesting to see how everything shakes up going forward.
McCoy, the most experienced returning starter and the player who moved from left guard to right tackle this offseason, was flagged in the first half for two false starts and a hold among Miami’s offensive-line penalties. McCoy has been someone that the coaches have trusted, so Saturday’s performance may have just been an outlier.
He has been one of the more reliable pieces through four games. One messy night against Central Michigan, but it does mean the right-tackle spot is no longer invisible heading into Death Valley.
What we still don’t know
A few questions remain heading into this weekend. Pass protection can look good when Mensah is completing 85 percent of his throws against a MAC defense, but it can look different on the road against a Power Conference edge group.
The open questions into next week:
- Is Congdon now the lead left guard, or was Saturday just a look?
- Does Buchanan keep every-snap status at right guard, or does Meriweather’s first-team work continue after his debut at the position looked promising?
- Can McCoy clean up the pre-snap penalties before a hostile environment makes them louder?
- When do we see Cantwell get meaningful snaps, and is he ready?
The consensus five-star prospect ranked as high as the No. 1 player in the nation has been trusting the process from this coaching staff to begin the season. Cantwell entered Miami with a lot of hype surrounding him, as the 18-year-old true freshman is set to be the next stud under Cristobal’s tutelage.
His development is something to watch, as Mirabal knows how to develop some of the best offensive linemen.
Jackson Cantwell Vs. Central Michigan⬇️
— Rollo (@SportsRollo) September 27, 2026
16 snaps
🟢83.9 PFF Grade
🟢78.1 PFF Pass Blocking Grade
🟢81.2 PFF Run Blocking Grade@mr417_ 's demise has been greatly exxagerated#TRENCHMONSTER🧌 #GoCanes🙌 pic.twitter.com/HiZNjs3cEE
Cristobal’s standard line after these games is that there is still a lot to clean up. On this unit, that is not coach-speak.
Miami can score 50 on almost anyone if Mensah and the receivers are right. The offensive line will decide whether that offense still works when the other side can actually punch back.
Saturday was not proof that the rebuild is done. It proved that the staff is finally willing to use the pieces they recruited and transferred in to finish it.
The game on Saturday night this weekend at Clemson will tell us a lot about this unit.
Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok for the latest news.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Jordan Lopez is a Miami-based sports writer and FIU sports journalism graduate who specializes in college football and the Miami Hurricanes. A lifelong Miami resident, Jordan has a deep understanding of the local sports landscape and brings a unique perspective to his coverage after having the opportunity to play college basketball. He's also written for Predominantly Orange (Denver Broncos), StateoftheU (Hurricanes football), and other sports, while also drawing on his background as a former athlete and now high school basketball coach to provide an informed perspective on games. Jordan's also a huge Dexter fan!
Follow JordanTLopez