Miami Hurricanes beat down the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks 38-3
Miami dusted off the cobwebs in a 38-3 victory over Miami Ohio on Friday at Hard Rock Stadium but is going to immediately shift focus back to the practice field, to focus on Texas A&M.
They opened things up quick and efficient three play, 56-yard drive that was capped off by a 44-yard touchdown by wide receiver Colbie Young.
The Hurricanes never looked and a strong defensive effort from Lance Guidry’s group played a huge role in that. The unit allowed just 215 total yards and 51 rushing yards.
In his 2023 debut, fourth-year UM junior quarterback Tyler Van Dyke completed 17-of-22 passes (77.3 percent) for 201 yards and one touchdown, with one interception. On his first pass of the season, Van Dyke connected with 6-5, 215-pound junior Colbie Young for the 44-yard touchdown on a screen play, and UM led 7-0 1:34 into the game.
Van Dyke was replaced by true freshman Emory Williams with about nine minutes left in the game. Williams and sophomore Jacurri Brown were competing for the backup job during fall camp. Brown started two games last season but at times struggled with accuracy despite a strong ‘22 win at Georgia Tech. Williams completed all three passes for 42 yards.
Henry Parrish Jr. ran for 90 yards and a touchdown on nine catches, with true freshman Mark Fletcher adding 76 yards and his first career touchdown on nine catches. RedHawks quarterback Brett Gabbert was 12-of-21 (57 percent) for 127 yards. The game marked UM’s 17th consecutive home-opening victory, including a 15-0 record at Hard Rock since moving there in 2008. Just as significant: The Hurricanes (1-0) finally snapped their streak of five consecutive losses at Hard Rock Stadium dating to last season: Middle Tennessee, North Carolina, Duke, Florida State and Pittsburgh in the 2022 finale.
“I thought (Tyler) performed really well,” Cristobal said. “He’d love to have the interception back. He’s really hard on himself. He was really efficient. He put us in the right plays, made the right decisions in the run game, as well. He carries a lot when he runs this offense. There’s a lot of autonomy that goes with it and I thought he did a great, great job.”
Linebacker Francisco Mauigoa paced Miami with five tackles. Defensive end Jahfari Harvey and linebacker Wesley Bissainthe each had two tackles and one sack.
Overall, Miami outgained its homonymous guest from Ohio 493 to 215 total yards and allowed the RedHawks to convert just 2 of 13 third-down attempts.
“Aggressive,” Cristobal said of the defense. “I saw a team that played fast. I saw a team that played to their training, since January; A commitment to increasing our level of physicality and speed. They’re playing with a bit more power. And then, Coach (Lance) Guidry, and how highly we think of him, he put it together. If you watch film with him, he’s not going to be completely happy. He’s going to find a lot of stuff to fix. But he is going to be happy with the effort.”
The Canes’ defense forced a three-and-out after Harvey sacked quarterback Brett Gabbert for a five-yard loss. Miami took over at its own 18 and again marched into RedHawks territory as the rain returned. Andy Borregales capped the drive with a 34-yard field goal to push Miami’s lead to 10 points.
After the teams traded punts, Van Dyke looked deep for George but was picked off by MU’s Michael Dowell. The RedHawks took over at their own 40 but went backwards as Bissainthe sacked Gabbert for a nine-yard loss. Miami got the ball back at its own 22.
The Canes went to their ground game as Allen and Fletcher rushed seven straight times between them for 64 yards to the RedHawks 19. But the drive stalled and Borregales booted a 32-yard field goal to push the lead to 13-0 with 2:33 left in the first half.
On the ensuing drive, Gabbert hit wide receiver Gage Larvadain in stride for a 30-yard completion to the Miami 35. But the Canes again held firm, forcing a 48-yard field goal from Graham Nicholson to cut the deficit back to 10 points.
But the Canes still had 58 seconds to work with and they made them count. Van Dyke hit Restrepo for 13 yards before Parrish galloped 37 yards to the MU 25. That gave Borregales another shot and he converted, hitting from 43 yards. It was 16-3 Canes at the break.
The Canes forced a three-and-out to start the second half and then Miami’s offense put together another efficient march. Van Dyke hit Restrepo twice for 29 yards to move the ball to the MU 26 and Fletcher took care of the rest, racing 26 yards down the left sideline for his first career touchdown. Van Dyke connected with Restrepo again for the two-point conversion and Miami had a three-touchdown lead.
Two drives later, Van Dyke lofted a gorgeous ball to Restrepo, whose one-armed grab moved the Canes to the RedHawks 35. Three plays later, Parrish scampered for 12 yards and dove into the end zone. The Canes were up 31-3 with 13:43 remaining.
Freshman Emory Williams took over under center later in the fourth quarter and completed all three of his passes for 42 yards, pushing Miami to the MU 20. Chaney churned his way to the end zone on the next snap – the Canes’ third rushing score of the second half. The Canes had a 35-point lead with 4:38 left.
Miami next hosts No. 23 Texas A&M on Saturday, September 9, at 3:30 p.m. on ABC.
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Trinton is the owner of CanesToday. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, he is a freshman in high school and wants to graduate from the University of Miami
