MIAMI GARDENS, FLA — The Miami Hurricanes didn’t just win their home opener Thursday night—they delivered one of the most dominant performances in program history.
No. 7 Miami overwhelmed Florida A&M 77-7 at Hard Rock Stadium, improving to 2-0 while putting on an offensive clinic from start to finish.
The Hurricanes finished with a school-record 856 yards of total offense and tied the program record with 77 points, finishing just one touchdown away from breaking the scoring record outright.
Quarterback Darian Mensah continued his impressive start in a Miami uniform, completing 14 of 15 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns. Through his first two games with the Hurricanes, Mensah has thrown eight touchdown passes with only four incompletions.
Backup quarterback Luke Nickel kept the offense rolling in the second half, completing all eight of his passes for 144 yards and three touchdowns.
Miami’s ground game was just as dangerous. Javian Mallory rushed for 142 yards and two touchdowns, while Mark Fletcher Jr. added 105 yards and two scores.
Malachi Toney once again provided one of the highlights of the night, finishing with 96 receiving yards and a touchdown. His biggest play came on a spectacular 52-yard reception over a Florida A&M defender.
On the other side of the ball, Miami’s defense was nearly flawless. The Hurricanes held the Rattlers’ offense to only 107 total yards and prevented it from reaching the end zone.
Miami was on its way to completing the shutout until a fourth-quarter fumble by sophomore Brennan Burton was recovered by Florida A&M’s Caleb McKenzie and returned 72 yards for the Rattlers’ only touchdown. Without the turnover, the Hurricanes would have walked away with a 77-0 shutout.
Miami was so dominant that both teams agreed to shorten the fourth quarter to 10 minutes with the Hurricanes already leading 77-0.
The Hurricanes didn’t just take care of business against Florida A&M—they showed how explosive this team can be on both sides of the ball. Miami has scored 122 points through its first two games, and after nearly rewriting the record books Thursday night, the Hurricanes continue to send an early message to the rest of college football:
It’s Hurricane season.
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