BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
The Mario Cristobal era is off to a good start.
The team is currently 2-0.
Then again, did I expect anything less from a coach that will turn 52 on September 24 and has returned home and has his dream job?
When you talk about Cristobal, let us not forget that he played for the Hurricanes from 1989-1992 and was an offensive tackle.
The guy has toughness built into his skin and it shows when his players take the field.
To date, let’s talk about what the Hurricanes have accomplished.
Miami opened its season with a 70-13 thrashing of Bethune Cookman on Saturday, September 3 in the home opener. The players were glad that they could finally hit someone that wore a jersey other than their own.
QB Tyler Van Dyke played into the third quarter and Cristobal had the luxury to use a lot of players and avoid any major injuries.
On September 10, Miami hosted Southern Mississippi and stepped up in class in terms of opposition.
This is the alma-mater of former Green Bay Packer Brett Favre and he wasn’t throwing passes in this contest at Hard Rock Stadium.
The Golden Eagles played the Hurricanes tough through the first half as they trailed 10-7 at halftime.
Cristobal made the necessary adjustments at halftime and Miami scored 20 unanswered points to defeat Southern Mississippi 30-7.
Van Dyke was 20-29 for 249 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
In this story, we have a video of his post-game thoughts.
The other main offensive weapon was Henry Parrish and he had a good afternoon. The running back had 22 carries for 134 yards and one touchdown. He also had two receptions for 16 yards.
The Hurricanes leading receiver was Xavier Restrepo with seven receptions for 99 yards.
Michael Redding had three receptions for 40 yards.
Unfortunately, during the week, he suffered a foot injury and won’t be available to play tonight vs Texas A&M at 9 ET on ESPN.
The Hurricanes gained 463 total yards and limited their opponent to 231 yards. Miami also registered three sacks.
The Canes were balanced and there is no doubt that Offensive Coordinator Josh Gattis has incorporated his philosophy brilliantly.
The Hurricanes rushed for 198 yards and amassed 265 in the air.
After the game, Cristobal, Leonard Taylor, Jacob Lichtenstein, Van Dyke, Michael Redding III and Parrish Jr met us afterwards and I hope you enjoy these videos.
What was interesting about this press conference was since the Hurricanes played the early game, there were no results of the Appalachian State at Texas A&M Aggies Game.
Going into the contest, the Aggies were ranked sixth.
As a result, all the questions presented to these people looked like the Hurricanes were going on the road to face a top 10 opponent.
But by the end of the night, things would drastically change as the Mountaineers stormed out of Kyle Field and stunned the crowd of 92,664 with a 17-14 win.
They also collected $1.5 Million for their efforts and ESPN decided to do College Game Day from Boone, NC., today.
The previous week Appalachian State lost a home game to North Carolina 63-61. This is a score that you would see in College Basketball.
How far did Texas A&M tumble in the standings?
The Aggies dropped to 24th.
Will they be an angry team and will Coach Jimbo Fisher have to motivate his troops?
They’ll definitely be angry and Fisher will not need to motivate his group.
But the question is, can the Hurricanes prove to the nation that the team is ready to be considered elite or will Miami judged by its soft early season schedule?
We’ll have those answers in no time.
But if there is a good gauge to see the direction of the Miami Hurricanes, and this tough road test will be a huge early season indicator on the National Stage. Allen Field will be buzzing tonight.
Thus far, the Canes have Taken Care Of Business!
Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and he can be followed on Twitter @TribuneSouth.
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