Newz7 Miami set a school record for yards and tied the mark for points in a game, with quarterbacks Darian Mensah and Luke Nickel each throwing three touchdown passes in a 77-7 victory over lower-division Florida A&M on Thursday night.The Hurricanes finished with 856 yards, breaking the mark of 750 against Ball State in 2024. Miami had 77 points in a game twice previously, both against Savannah State. And the game was so one-sided that the teams agreed to shave five minutes off the fourth quarter, setting the clock for 10 minutes instead of the standard 15.By then, it was 77-0.
The Hurricanes (2-0) finished with 42 first downs — another school record.“Pretty ridiculous," Mensah said when asked about a Miami offense that has scored 122 points in the season's first two games. “It's just a testament to the guys up front.”Florida A&M (1-2) scored on a 72-yard fumble return by Caleb McKenzie with 6:40 left.Miami opened its season with a 45-6 win at Stanford, and Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal said he saw improvement from Week 1 to Week 2.“We did a lot,” said Cristobal, who got his 99th career win. “Certainly, just wanted to see our guys play fast and free and improve.
That was the most important thing; (going) 1-0 is always the goal, but in college football every single week you better get better. In some respects, I think we did that tonight.”Mensah completed 14 of 15 passes for 252 yards and three first-half touchdowns, making him 41 of 45 for 653 yards and eight touchdowns in his first two games as a Hurricane. Javian Mallory and Mark Fletcher Jr.
each rushed for two scores, and Malachi Toney — one of six Miami receivers with a touchdown catch — had four grabs for 96 yards.Miami scored touchdowns on 11 of its first 12 possessions. The one exception: a one-play drive to kneel out the clock and end the first half. The Hurricanes had 16 players catch at least one pass, the first time a FBS school has done that since Penn State had 17 pass-catchers against Ohio in 2022.Florida A&M finished with 107 yards, averaging a mere 2.3 yards per snap.“We're just working on doing our job,” Miami defensive lineman Armando Blount said.The takeawayFlorida A&M: The Rattlers got $760,000 for this game, including $40,000 to bring the school's famed “Marching 100” band to Hard Rock Stadium.
The band — which has played there countless times, including a… 7 Miami Hurricanes dominated the Florida A&M Rattlers 77-7 in their home opener Thursday night at Hard Rock Stadium.Miami coach Mario Cristobal told reporters earlier this week that he wanted his team to establish dominance in the run game, and the Hurricanes did just that from the opening drive.It took Mark Fletcher Jr. just three carries to find the end zone.The offensive line opened a large hole, while wide receiver Malachi Toney helped seal the edge and spring Fletcher for a 46-yard touchdown run.
The score moved Fletcher to sixth in Miami history in career rushing yards and fifth in career rushing touchdowns.On the first play of Miami’s second drive, quarterback Darian Mensah found Josh Moore for a 55-yard touchdown, giving the Hurricanes a 14-0 lead.Florida A&M’s quarterback gave Miami’s defense some trouble when he took off running, but the Hurricanes eventually forced a stop and another Rattlers punt.Fletcher scored his second touchdown of the game on Miami’s next drive, finishing the first quarter with seven carries for 105 yards and two touchdowns as the Hurricanes took a 21-0 lead.Defensive backs JJ Dunnigan and Zecheriah Poyser were active throughout the first half, helping Miami control both the passing and running games and force another Florida A&M punt.Toney then made his presence felt again, hauling in a 52-yard reception from Mensah after wrestling the ball away from a defender. A few plays later, Mensah found Toney wide open for a 19-yard touchdown.The touchdown was Mensah’s seventh touchdown pass and Toney’s fourth receiving touchdown through Miami’s first five-plus quarters of the season.Running back Girard Pringle Jr. also made an impact on the next drive, contributing in both the running and receiving games before making a sharp stop and cut to reach the end zone for Miami’s fifth touchdown.Running back Javian Mallory added another score late in the half, giving Miami a 49-0 lead with 46 seconds remaining before halftime.Mensah completed 14 of 15 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns in the first half.
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