No. 7 Miami routed Florida A&M 77-7 on Thursday, piling up a school-record 856 yards at Hard Rock Stadium.
Hurricanes Score on Nearly Every First-Half Drive
The Hurricanes (2-0) scored touchdowns on 11 of their first 12 possessions in the home opener. They led 21-0 after the first quarter and 49-0 at halftime. The margin grew so wide that both teams agreed to shorten the fourth quarter from 15 minutes to 10.
Mensah Throws Three Touchdowns Before Halftime Exit
Quarterback Darian Mensah completed 14 of 15 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns before sitting down at halftime. His scoring strikes went to Josh Moore from 55 yards, Malachi Toney from 19 and Cooper Barkate from 9.
"Pretty ridiculous," Mensah said of the offense's output after the game, according to the AP. "It's just a testament to the guys up front."
Through two games as a Hurricane, Mensah is 41 of 45 for 653 yards and eight touchdowns.
Nickel Matches Starter's Output in Relief
Backup Luke Nickel kept scoring in the second half. He opened the third quarter with a 47-yard touchdown pass to Somourian Wingo, his first career scoring throw. Nickel added TD passes of 33 yards to Vandrevius Jacobs and 21 yards to Vance Spafford, finishing with three of his own.
The pair became the first power-conference teammates to each throw three touchdown passes in the same game since Patrick Mahomes and Nic Shimonek did it for Texas Tech against Kansas in 2016.
Ground Game and Passing Attack Both Shine
Mark Fletcher Jr. topped 100 rushing yards on seven carries, and both Fletcher and freshman Javian Mallory rushed for two touchdowns each. Toney led all receivers with 96 yards on four catches. Sixteen Hurricanes caught at least one pass, the most for an FBS team since Penn State had 17 pass-catchers against Ohio in 2022.
Miami Sets Records While Rattlers Struggle
Miami also set a school record with 42 first downs and tied its all-time scoring mark of 77, matched twice before against Savannah State. Florida A&M managed 107 total yards, averaging 2.3 yards per snap. The Rattlers' lone score came on a 72-yard fumble return by Caleb McKenzie with 6:40 left.
Tkachuk Brothers Fire Up Crowd Pregame
Florida Panthers forwards Matthew and Brady Tkachuk cranked the Hurricane siren before kickoff, the Miami Herald reported. The win was head coach Mario Cristobal's 99th career coaching victory and extended Miami's home-opener winning streak to 20 games.
Miami Travels to Wake Forest Next
The Hurricanes head to Wake Forest on Friday for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on ESPN.
