Hurricanes Official Game Scrimmage

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

Before I entered Hard Rock (Joe Robbie Stadium) on Saturday, I did my Sports Talk Saturday Radio Show in Oakland, California from inside my Jeep and told Co-Hosts, Mark Mancini and Bruce Kessinger that I never expected the Miami Hurricanes game vs Bethune Cookman to be competitive.

The Hurricanes were facing a school from the Football Championship Series (FCS) which is a level beneath the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

In their history, going into the game, the Hurricanes led the series 6-0.

There was no point spread for this contest which was no surprise.

But the game is on the schedule and there was excitement to the tune of 56,795 fans there to watch the debut of former Canes assistant, FIU and Oregon Head Coach Mario Cristobal.

If there was ever a mismatch, this was it! 

But then again during the opening week of college football, there are always lopsided scores around the country with smaller schools scheduling larger institutions to get guaranteed money in an effort to finance there athletic department.

This is the cruel business of David’s facing Goliath’s. 

Welcome to big-time college sports.

Before we get into the Bethune Cookman contest, let’s take a trip down memory lane.

On September 8, 2018, the Miami Hurricanes slaughtered Savannah State 77-0 and current Florida Atlantic University QB N’Kosi Perry came off the bench to throw the first three touchdown passes of his collegiate career. He was 9-14, 93 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

Current Miami wide receiver Will Mallory caught one pass for two yards that resulted in a touchdown from Malik Rosier.

The Hurricanes were ranked No.22 going into the game and set a school record for margin of victory in this thrashing of their Georgia counterpart by scoring 77 points.

What would we see during this Labor Day Weekend Saturday Clash?

For starters, Bethune Cookman won the coin toss and elected to receive. 

The Wildcats put together an opening drive that was 10 plays for 63 yards and utilized 6:06 and resulted in a 29 yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead. 

One thing was guaranteed, the visitors from Daytona Beach, FL wouldn’t get shutout.

The Hurricanes were scoring in all ways, offensively, defensively and on special teams and led 42-10 at halftime.

The only thing that entered my mind was how long would starting QB Tyler Van Dyke would stay in the game? 

He departed in the third quarter and was replaced by Jake Garcia.

When a team scores 70 points, you know the numbers are going to look impressive so we’ll go over the key ones which includes the individual statistics.

*Miami gained 605 yards in total offense.

*RB Henry Parrish Jr. had 14 carries for 108 yards and three touchdowns.

*RB Thad Franklin Jr amassed nine carries for 78 yards and two touchdowns.

*WR Xavier Restrepo led all receivers with five catches for 100 yards and had a touchdown.

*QB Van Dyke was 13-16, 193 yards and two touchdowns. His backup Garcia was 8-8 for 107 yards and one touchdown.

When the game was over, Coach Cristobal, linebacker Gilbert Frierson, Parrish Jr, Restrepo and Van Dyke addressed us as you’re going to see in the videos inserted in this story

Also included in this story is a video of Mallory who talked about the expectations for the 2022 season.

A couple key questions that were asked were, the energy bottled up inside during training camp practicing and now facing a live opponent and hitting someone else, the adaption to Coach Josh Gattis offense and preparing a more competitive opponent as Southern Mississippi comes to town for a Noon kickoff.

Coach Cristobal was asked about finally coaching his first game as Canes Coach.

The videos tell you the story. 

The facts give you an indication why the Miami Hurricanes are 1-0 as a result of the Bethune Cookman beat down.

But it’s safe to say that when I do my radio show on Saturday that I’m not bragging about being a top-notch prognosticator for a game that didn’t have a point spread.

You can rest assure that Southern Mississippi will have a point spread and alumnus Bret Favre isn’t walking through that door gunslinging the football all over the gridiron.

Nevertheless, the beat goes on and I won’t wonder how long Van Dyke will play in this next game.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can follow him on Twitter @TribuneSouth.

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