The weather didn’t cooperation, the sixty-minute showdown was cut to fifty and a few big plays were nullified; but in the end the Miami Hurricanes took care of business in the manner everyone hoped—shutting out the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, 45-0
A glorified scrimmage of this nature doesn’t really warrant some next-level, play-by-play type of breakdown. Instead, some general thoughts on how head coach Al Golden and his Canes handled a much-anticipated season-opener at the newly-renovated Sun Life Stadium:
While a beat down of a Bethune-Cookman type of program isn’t anything to make a big deal of, Miami getting a shutout was impressive as it’s the first of the Golden era.
The Canes played the Wildcats in 2012 and got out with a, 38-10 win—after trailing early in the game, looking lethargic and relying on Duke Johnson (as always) to carry the load. It also marked the first time the Wildcats had been shut out in nine season.
As many have already noted the morning after, Miami came out much more spirited after the weather delay; true freshman Mark Walton getting some carries—running for 14 and 17 yards on a drive where Kaaya found receiver Rashawn Scott twice; a 26-yarder early in the drive and a 17-yard touchdown, extending the lead to, 17-0.
It was all-Miami all night long; and a clean game, at that. Four penalties for 30 yards and one turnover. A defense that held Bethune-Cookman to 79 total yards. Balance; 184 yards passing and 195 rushing. The Canes went for it twice on fourth down, converting on both occasions.
The lone ugly stat; a hangover from last season—3-of-11 on third down conversions.
The trio of Walton, Joe Yearby and Trayone Gray should give Canes fans some relief in the wake of losing Gus Edwards this past week.
The true freshman was the star of the night; carrying 10 times for 85 yards and a score, while Gray got eight touches, found the end zone and averaged 9.6. yards-per-carry. Yearby looked as explosive as ever, rushing six times for 40 yards and a score.
The three combined for three touchdowns and 202 yards on 24 carries.
Opponent aside, Miami should feel good that Walton had that real-deal look out the gate, while Gray came off like a stellar second or third option. At one point all offseason chatter surrounded Yearby and if he’s be able to carry the load.
All of that is moot as there are now three very capable backs that should give the Canes little-to-no dropoff from last season.
Kaaya was crisp enough after the long layoff; going 16-of-27 for 173 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers. Malik Rosier did his mop-up duty thing, mostly handing off and going 1-of-4 through the air for 11 yards.
Lots of recent talk about Rosier being a part of some special offensive packages, which no one expected to be rolled out in a game of this nature. Still, the second-stringer looked comfortable under center and it will be interesting to see how he’s incorporated into big-game moments as the year rolls on.
Corn Elder looked all the athlete and force folks were hoping when he rolled on to campus two years ago. Running back a 72-yard punt return felt like a breath of fresh air based on the Canes’ not-so-special teams play the past few seasons. Doing it on the heels of getting jobbed by a bogus call earlier served as a form of justice.
Some great “welcome back” moments regarding Hunter Knighton and Rayshawn Jenkins. Knighton suffered a life-threatening heatstroke in early 2014, spent 12 days in a coma and lost 55 pounds. Forget playing football; folks were simply worried if the kid would survive. 18 months later he was back on the field for the Hurricanes.
Jenkins, after missing all of last year, the redshirt junior hauled down an interception in his return. (Artie Burns also had a pick for the Canes in the rout.)
Regarding Knighton, a feel-good story regarding Golden that the commentators shared—how the head coach visited his lineman on a daily basis in February 2014 during his hospital stay.
Golden showed his true heart years back when receiver Malcolm Lewis suffered a season-ending ankle injury at Georgia Tech; cradling his player mid-field while medics tended to him.
While that act was capture by cameras and shared with the world, the Knighton act was behind closed doors and took a year and a half to be made public.
Any personal feelings this fan base has towards Golden, these types of acts are certainly the true measure of a man—especially the fact the heart shown Knighton wasn’t talked about.
Knighton deservedly received the game ball on Saturday night. Should’ve been a second one for Golden, as well.
Two Miami receivers went down on Saturday night; sophomore Braxton Berrios and junior Stacy Coley.
Berrios appeared to tweak his left knee trying to haul in an errant pass from Kaaya, while Coley hurt his left ankle after a two-yard loss on a swing pass from Kaaya. The injuries happened four plays apart.
The Berrios injury looked more severe, though he did leave the field under his own power and indications both from Golden and Kaaya on Sunday morning were that neither injury was serious—though that was the same implication regarding the recent Edwards’ foot injury that sidelined him for the year.
In short, stay tuned.
Lastly, Miami’s defense as a whole looked more aggressive and swarming than it has a years passed. Lots of chatter regarding 4-3 and 3-4 schemes and time will tell how it all plays out; but the Hurricanes do appear to have better personnel for that 3-4 defense Golden and coordinator Mark D’Onofrio prefer.
The last few years were spent making a square peg fit in a round hole—made even worse by recruiting issues that resulted from a long-running NCAA investigation, as well as the dismissal of some talented key players who weren’t holding up their end of the bargain.
A lot of season left, and how this defense reacts to the likes of Nebraska, Florida State, Clemson or Georgia Tech—we’ll see. For now, it was a spirited effort in the opener and deserves a tip of the hat, as well as the benefit of the doubt. For now, at least.
Next up for Miami; a short week and up-the-road trek to Boca Raton, where the Canes will take on the Florida Atlantic Owls this Friday night at 8:00 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on Fox Sports 1.