Miami Hurricanes showcase the proper mindset in blowout win over Bethune-Cookman
The Miami Hurricanes weren’t focused on doing anything flashy on Saturday, although there was plenty of flash to come from the outing. They didn’t want to get too cute, take too many chances, do too much.
When a top-five team in the country like Miami is facing an FCS-level opponent like Bethune-Cookman, the goal is simple: Get your work in, get your reps, get out of the game healthy and set yourself up to be in a good position to move on with the rest of your schedule.
The No. 5 Hurricanes did that Saturday in their 45-3 rout of the Wildcats at Hard Rock Stadium. Miami (2-0) pulled its starters midway through the third quarter after building a 35-3 lead, got their backups and younger players valuable experience and are now gearing up for the rest of their slate as they continue pushing toward a College Football Playoff berth.
“That was a focus right – focus on us and us getting better,” Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal said. “If you really focus on the routine plays, they turn into highlight plays. If you get off of that, and you’re trying to make a play instead of doing your job, that’s when things go sideways.”
Things rarely went sideways for the Hurricanes on Saturday, as should have been expected in that matchup. Quarterback Carson Beck led Miami to touchdowns on all five drives he played. He threw a pair of touchdowns to CJ Daniels — a 40-yard strike to put Miami up 7-0 with 9:16 left in the first quarter and a 5-yard completion with 38 seconds left in the first half to extend the Hurricanes’ lead to 28-3. Beck finished the game having completed 22 of 24 passes for 267 yards and the two touchdowns.
Running backs Mark Fletcher Jr. and CharMar Brown combined for 121 yards and three rushing touchdowns on 18 carries while the starters were in the game.
On those five drives with the starters playing, the Hurricanes offense averaged 9 yards per play.
“It all starts behind that o-line,” said Beck, who completed the first 15 passes he threw — a single-game UM record. “They lead this team. They run this team. I’ve talked about them a ton throughout the off season and even coming into the season, but from pass protection to run block — we run so many different run plays and scheme and coach [Alex] Mirabal does a great job with all that. And then you get the rock in guys’ hands that can make safeties miss and make second-level defenders miss and take a 4-yard gain and turn it into a 20 yard gain. It makes my job a lot easier.”
The defense held Bethune-Cookman (0-2) to just a field goal — a 32-yard make from Juan Dominguez late in the first half. The Hurricanes forced a pair of turnovers in the second half, a Rueben Bain Jr. strip sack recovered by Chase Smith in the third quarter and a Bryce Fitzgerald interception in the fourth quarter, to stop Bethune-Cookman’s only other quality drives.
It was enough for Miami to get a good look at its depth, with backups playing the final quarter-and-a-half.
“You still have to play your guys,” Cristobal said. “You’ve got to come to these games full throttle. Our guys did a good job while they were in there, and they granted us the opportunity for the other guys to play as well. We got the best of both worlds out there.”
Now comes the rest of the road ahead. The Hurricanes, who stayed at No. 5 in the latest AP poll, wrap up non-conference play with two more games against in-state opponents in the USF Bulls on Saturday (4:30 p.m., the CW) and the Florida Gators on Sept. 20. USF upset No. 13 UF 18-16 in Gainesville and also beat then-No. 25 Boise State to open the season to move into the AP poll’s top 25 at No. 18. Florida fell out of the top 25 after the loss to USF.
Two games in, UM has shown already that it has the poise and experience to handle its week-to-week business the same regardless of the opponent. The Hurricanes treated Bethune-Cookman like they did Notre Dame in the opener.
That mentality needs to continue.
“Every opportunity is an opportunity,” Beck said. “That’s what I try to stress to these guys so much every time you get the chance to take the field. We only have guaranteed 10 more games. It’s crazy to think that way, but it’s the truth.”
Added Daniels: “Every day, don’t take it for granted. ... We don’t care too much about the past. We’re gonna focus on the present. We’re going to focus on who we’ve got this week.”
This story was originally published September 7, 2025 at 12:03 PM.
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