Yahoo Sports FINAL: No. 12 Miami Hurricanes 56, Florida A&M Rattlers 9
That one went as expected.
The No. 12 Miami Hurricanes had no problem against Florida A&M in a 56-9 rout on Saturday in UM’s home opener to improve to 2-0.
Cam Ward threw for three touchdowns and ran for a fourth before turning the game over to the second-string offense midway through the third quarter. The defense held the Rattlers to just three field goals.
Offense keeps humming with backups
The Hurricanes’ second-string offense picked up where the starters left off, going 43 yards on six plays capped by a 1-yard touchdown from freshman Jordan Lyle.
Fellow true freshmen Ny Carr and Joshisa “JoJo” Trader had their first catches on that drive.
Second-team offense on the field
The Hurricanes turned the offense over to the backups late in the third quarter. Quarterback Reese Poffenbarger replaced Cam Ward. Among the others on the field: freshman wide receivers JoJo Trader and Ny Carr along with running back Jordan Lyle.
Cam Ward scores again ... with his legs this time
Quarterback Cam Ward’s fourth touchdown of the game came with his feet, as he ran for an 8-yard score to put Miami up 46-9 on Florida A&M with 3:43 left in the third quarter.
It’s his first rushing touchdown with Miami.
FAMU adds another field goal
The Rattlers scored on a 49-yard field goal on their second drive of the third quarter.
Miami’s lead is 39-9 with 7:29 left in the third quarter.
Damien Martinez’s first Hurricanes touchdown
Junior running back Damien Martinez, who transferred to UM from Oregon State this offseason, scored his first touchdown with the Hurricanes with a 33-yard run in the third quarter.
Miami is now up 39-6 with 9:14 left in the third quarter.
Another touchdown for Mark Fletcher
Miami opened the second half with a seven-play, 75-yard drive capped by a 4-yard rushing touchdown by sophomore Mark Fletcher Jr.
It’s Fletcher’s third touchdown of the season after scoring twice against Florida.
Also on that drive, Xavier Restrepo eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark for the second consecutive game to begin this season and eighth time in his career.
Halftime thoughts
Florida A&M hit a 36-yard field goal to close the first half. Miami is up 25-6.
All in all, this is about as expected.
Cam Ward has basically been able to do whatever he wants on offense — he’s 13 for 16 with 223 yards and three touchdowns.
The defense has let up a few chunk plays, but the Hurricanes are rolling a lot of younger guys and are still getting stops when needed. Miami has seven tackles for loss, three sacks, two forced fumbles, an interception and a pass breakup through the first two quarters. FAMU is also just 2 for 7 on third down.
We’ll see how much longer the starters remain in the game on offense.
A lot of young guys getting playing time
Mario Cristobal has already emptied the bench a bit on defense in the first half.
Among players who have gotten playing time: True freshmen defensive linemen Cole McConathy II, Armondo Blount and Justin Scott, sophomore defensive lineman Malik Bryant, sophomore linebacker Raul Aguirre Jr. and true freshman defensive back Zaquan Patterson.
Scott recorded his first career sack midway through the second quarter.
More points? More points
For the first time this game, the Hurricanes offense did not end a drive with a touchdown.
They did, however, still put points on the board with a 36-yard Andres Borregales field goal to go up 25-3 with 5:46 left in the second quarter.
Another Miami drive, another Miami touchdown
The Hurricanes are rolling, as expected, against FAMU.
They capped their third offensive drive — a seven-play, 75-yard effort — with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Cam Ward to Chris Johnson.
Ward so far is 10 for 11 with 193 yards and three touchdowns and has completed passes to eight different players.
No shutout
FAMU quarterback Daniel Richardson had a couple big plays on a nine-play, 70-yard drive but the Rattlers had to settle for a 22-yard field goal after the Hurricanes defense held strong.
Miami’s lead is 15-3 with 49 seconds left in the first quarter.
Xavier Restrepo moves up UM list with latest TD catch
Xavier Restrepo’s 50-yard touchdown catch from Cam Ward capped a seven-play, 99-yard touchdown drive to put Miami up 15-0 on FAMU midway through the first quarter.
With that catch, Restrepo has 1,879 receiving yards in his UM career, passing Andre Johnson (1,831) for 11th in school history.Allen Hurns is 10th at 1,891.
Ward, meanwhile, is 6 for 6 with 121 yards and two touchdown passes so far.
A fast start for the Hurricanes
Miami’s defense forced an interception three plays in to the game, with Wesley Bissainthe picking off FAMU quarterback Daniel Richardson on the right sideline.
Two plays later, quarterback Cam Ward found tight end Elijah Arroyo for a 17-yard touchdown.
It’s 7-0 Miami, 80 seconds into the game.
Pregame observations
It looks like the Hurricanes will be without several starters for their home opener against FAMU.
Three were already known: Defensive end Rueben Bain, cornerback Damari Brown and left guard Ryan Rodriguez.
But two other starters were also in street clothes during pregame warmups: Left tackle Jalen Rivers and cornerback Daryl Porter Jr.
(UPDATE: Porter played and started)
Miami’s starting offensive line during warmups looked as follows: Left tackle Markell Bell, left guard Matt McCoy, center Zach Carpenter, right guard Anez Cooper and right tackle Francis Mauigoa.
Miami’s starters in the secondary on Saturday: Porter, OJ Frederique, D’Yoni Hill, Jaden Harris and Mishael “Meesh” Powell
As for the defensive line, Elijah Alson, Akheem Mesidor, Simeon Barrow and Tyler Barron started.
Cristobal-Colzie relationship
The connection between Miami Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal and Florida A&M Rattlers coach James Colzie III runs deep.
Both are Miami natives with football in their blood, with Cristobal playing at Columbus before going on to be a starting offensive lineman at Miami while Colzie starred at South Miami before taking his career to Florida State. Both have since made names for themselves in the coaching realm.
And while they are opponents on Saturday for Miami’s home opener, there is mutual respect coming from both sides.
“James Colzie, I have a tremendous amount of respect for him,” Cristobal said. “He’s not only a first-class coach, but he’s a first-class human being, and he’s going to have his team prepared to play.”
Season recap
▪ Miami 41, Florida 17: Cam Ward threw for 385 yards and three touchdowns, Mark Fletcher added two scores on the ground, the defense held its own despite one of its top players exiting the game early with injury, and the No. 19 Hurricanes made quick work of the Florida Gators with a season-opening win at Gainesville’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to kick off a critical Year 3 under Mario Cristobal.
▪ Miami vs. Florida A&M (tonight)
▪ Miami vs. Ball State (Sept. 14, 3:30 p.m.)
▪ Miami at South Florida (Sept. 21, time TBD)
▪ Miami vs. Virginia Tech (Sept. 27, time TBD)
▪ Miami at California (Oct. 5, time TBD)
▪ Miami at Louisville (Oct. 19, time TBD)
▪ Miami vs. Florida State (Oct. 26, time TBD)
▪ Miami vs. Duke (Nov. 2, time TBD)
▪ Miami at Georgia Tech (Nov. 9, time TBD)
▪ Miami vs. Wake Forest (Nov. 23, time TBD)
▪ Miami at Syracuse (Nov. 30, time TBD)
Pregame Hurricanes reading
Need to catch up before kickoff? Here are the highlights of the Miami Herald’s coverage over the past few days.
▪ Mario Cristobal’s big task this season: Keeping Hurricanes ‘driven and hungry’ amid success
▪ ‘Determined’ Mark Fletcher back from injury — and already making an impact for the Hurricanes
▪ ‘Extremely steady’ Xavier Restrepo chasing Miami Hurricanes legends in UM record book
▪ With Rueben Bain Jr. sidelined, Hurricanes’ defensive line depth becoming key early in season
