Mario Cristobal watched his offense score on nearly every possession for a half, then watched it disappear entirely. Speaking with Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter after No. 5 Miami's 33-20 win at Wake Forest on Friday night, the Hurricanes coach was not interested in treating the ending as a crisis.

“I like the fact that even though it got sloppy at the end, we did play complementary football,” Cristobal said after the game. “In the first half, the offense was on fire. After the first drive, the defense really turned it on. And then we found ourselves a little bit banged up, but we've got to be able to overcome that.”

His point was that the two units traded responsibility. When Miami's offense went cold with a string of three-and-outs, the defense produced a safety and Ethan O'Connor's late interception to close the game out. “When you go on the road and you're playing in the conference, you've got to find a way to win,” Cristobal said. “We have some things to clean up, so we're looking forward to doing that.”

The injuries are the real concern. Cristobal acknowledged Miami got banged up at running back and tackle, and that reserves suddenly faced a workload they had not seen through two blowouts. “We hadn't played more than 35, 38 plays in our first couple of games because of the margin in the first half,” he said. “So tonight, we were tested a little bit there.”

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He confirmed Malachi Toney's reps were managed after halftime. “He got a little bit banged up. We don't think it's too serious,” Cristobal said of the receiver, who finished with 11 catches for 113 yards and a touchdown. He also credited Wake Forest for adjusting well in the second half.

On Darian Mensah, who opened 24-for-24 and finished 30-of-34 with three scores, Cristobal pointed to command rather than arm talent. “His consistency, the way he can master the offense, the way he could put us in good plays,” he said, praising Mensah's pocket awareness and ability to fit throws into tight windows.

Miami is 3-0 and hosts Central Michigan next Saturday.