No. 7 Miami Hurricanes set single-game records in rout of Florida A&M
Well, that went about as expected.
The No. 7 Miami Hurricanes dominated the FCS-level Florida A&M Rattlers 77-7 on Thursday at Hard Rock Stadium in UM’s home opener.
The Hurricanes (2-0) were up 21-0 after the first quarter, 49-0 at halftime and had the majority of the starters out of the game by the time the second half began... and even then kept scoring.
“Our guys came out and played efficiently,” Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal said.
Now, a dominant performance was anticipated. The Hurricanes were 59.5-point favorites, according to FanDuel, and FAMU was coming off an extremely short week after having played in the Orange Blossom Classic on Sunday.
But just how dominant was Miami’s offense?
Miami tied school records for points (77, previously done twice against Savannah State — first on Nov. 29, 2013, and again on Sept. 8, 2018) and set the record for total yards (856, previously 750 on Sept. 14, 2024, against Ball State). UM scored touchdowns on each of its first 11 drives, not including a kneel down to end the first half.
“It’s just a testament to the guys up front,” quarterback Darian Mensah said, “but mainly protecting and running the ball. I think we a great job of that tonight as well.”
Mensah also did a great job of orchestrating the offense when he was on the field. He completed 14 of 15 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns — one apiece to Josh Moore, Malachi Toney and Cooper Barkate — before giving way to Luke Nickel for the second half. Through two games with the Hurricanes, Mensah has two touchdown passes for every incompletion he has thrown (eight touchdown passes, four incompletions). Overall, he’s 41 of 45 for 653 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions.
“It means a lot,” Mensah said. “Obviously, I wanted to play well. Canes fans were very supportive of me when I first got here, so to kind of give that back on the field with my play means a lot to me.”
Nickel went a perfect 8 for 8 for 144 yards and three touchdowns on his three drives. His touchdowns were of 47 yards to Somourian Wingo, 33 yards to Vandrevius Jacobs and 21 yards to Vance Spafford. Third-string quarterback freshman Dereon Coleman then finished the game, completing 5 of 6 passes for 30 yards and rushing for 19 yards.
The Hurricanes on Thursday became the fourth team (fifth instance) this century with multiple players throwing at least three touchdown passes in the same game.
“It was good to see Luke go out there and sling it a little bit and run the offense like he did,” Cristobal said. “Dereon, I think, was on his way to performing really, really well. We did sub down to the [fourth-string players] and then beyond that, so it kind of he didn’t have the same supporting cast.”
Thursday marked the first time Miami has had two quarterbacks with multiple touchdown passes in the same game since Oct. 8, 2005, when Kyle Wright had three and Kirby Freeman had two against Duke.
Mark Fletcher Jr. had 105 yards and two touchdowns on just seven carries. Sophomore Girard Pringle Jr. and true freshman Javian Mallory also had first-half rushing touchdowns. Mallory finished with a team-high 142 rushing yards and added a second touchdown in the third quarter. It’s the first time UM has had multiple players with at least 100 rushing yards in a game since Deejay Dallas and Travis Homer on Nov. 3, 2018, against Duke.
Toney caught four passes for 96 yards and the touchdown to bring his season total to 16 catches, 330 yards and four touchdowns through two games.
And the defense, despite missing both of their starting cornerbacks (OJ Frederique Jr. and Xavier Lucas), held FAMU (1-2) to 107 yards. The Rattlers didn’t cross midfield until late in the second quarter and went 1 for 14 on third down.
Miami rotated a lot of younger players in during the first half, particularly in the secondary because of the slew of injuries.
Florida A&M broke up the shutout with 6:40 left to play when defensive back Caleb McKenzie (a Miami Central High alumnus) stripped the ball from Miami receiver Brennan Burton and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown.
Miami travels to Wake Forest on Sept. 18 for its next game.
This story was originally published September 10, 2026 at 11:10 PM with the headline "No. 7 Miami Hurricanes set single-game records in rout of Florida A&M."
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