Hurricanes go from Notre Dame to Bethune-Cookman. UM’s main task: Avoid complacency
The Miami Hurricanes are coming off the high of a massive season-opening upset, a 27-24 victory against then-No. 6 Notre Dame on Sunday night that marked the Hurricanes’ first top-10 win under coach Mario Cristobal.
It was a statement for Miami, one that showed they have the talent and potential to be taken seriously as College Football Playoff contenders.
How they follow that up will perhaps be even more telling.
“Week 1 is over,” defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor said. “Rip that page out of the book, and always start fresh for Week 2.”
While Miami (1-0), which moved up five spots from No. 10 to No. 5 in the latest AP poll following the Notre Dame win, should have no trouble against its next opponent on Saturday in FCS’ Bethune-Cookman (0-1), Cristobal continues to stress the importance of his team maximizing its intensity regardless of who is on the other side of the ball.
“I think we all witness every single week in college football that if you’re not on your game and at your best, you’ll be exposed,” Cristobal said. “We don’t want to learn that kind of a lesson. So we have a very straightforward, unique way to make sure that we’re amped up.”
That’s obviously easier said than done. It’s easy to get amped up for Notre Dame, a known rival and a team that just last season was playing for the national title. Bethune-Cookman, a team that lost its opener last week 42-9 to FIU? Not so much.
But when the game kicks off at 7 p.m. Saturday from Hard Rock Stadium, expect Miami to be ready to go. They know their season is far bigger than just a marquee season-opening win. If they want it to continue that way, if they want to compete for an Atlantic Coast Conference championship and a spot in the playoffs, then they need to approach every game the same.
“Humility is always a week away,” quarterback Carson Beck said. “We only have 11 more guaranteed opportunities. Just never take any of those for granted, and I think that completely eliminates complacency, just by having that mindset and that perspective.”
And the Hurricanes know there are still areas where they need to improve. The offense stalled out most of the second half, with four consecutive three-and-outs allowing Notre Dame to erase a 14-point deficit to tie the score. Miami responded when it needed to, going 46 yards over 10 plays on its final possession to set up a game-winning 47-yard field goal from Carter Davis.
“It’s all the ebbs and flows of the game,” said Beck, who completed 20 of 31 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. “They were able to get some stops, but when we needed it at the end, we were able to drive down the field and ultimately go get three to go put it away.”
The defense held its own in its first live game under new defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman, particularly against the run. Miami held Notre Dame to an average of 3.3 yards per rush. The Hurricanes also forced a pair of turnovers and had two sacks on the Fighting Irish’s final drive to seal the game.
“His defense is everything I expected it to be,” said Mesidor, who was part of both of those game-ending sacks. “It’s aggressive. It’s fast. He lets guys play fast without thinking. We had a lot of fun on Sunday.”
They look to have more fun on Saturday as they continue this strong push to the season. While Bethune-Cookman won’t pose anywhere near the threat of Notre Dame, Cristobal knows what buttons he has to push to make sure his team doesn’t get complacent.
He also spoke highly of Bethune-Cookman coach Raymond Woodie Jr.
“I know their head coach, he’s a hell of a football coach and a really good motivator and this is a big game for both them and for us,” Cristobal said. “Last game has no value if you don’t take care of this next game and that goes on for every game as the season goes on.”
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