Surging No. 12 Miami Hurricanes Cruise to Win Over Rattlers

© Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Week 2 of the college football season saw the No. 12 Miami Hurricanes (2-0) defeat the Rattlers of Florida A&M (2-1) 56-9 on Sept. 7 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. This was the first meeting between the two teams since 2016, when the Hurricanes won 70-3.

Coming off a 12-1 season a year ago, the Florida A&M Rattlers presented a unique challenge for the Hurricanes and head coach Mario Cristobal. In actuality, the game presented a speed bump for the high-powered offense of the Hurricanes with quarterback Cam Ward.

What happened in the game?

Miami proved to be too much for Florida A&M, quickly jumping out to a 15-3 lead after the first quarter. The Hurricanes never looked back. Cam Ward followed up his 385-yard performance in Week 1 with a stellar outing. That Week 1 mark set a school record for the first start by a Hurricanes quarterback. On Sept. 7, Ward threw for 304 yards on 20-of-26 passing and 3 touchdowns. The Hurricanes' defense held the Rattlers' offense to 142 yards passing, forcing 4 interceptions and 2 fumbles. The defensive front was a nightmare for the Rattlers' offense as it was able to get 5 sacks on the night. Defensive end Tyler Baron led the way with 3 sacks.

Player of the Game: Miami

With the Hurricanes running away with the game, Ward's performance has these Hurricanes in a different space. A second straight game of 300+ yards and 3 touchdowns set the tone for the offense. This week, running back Damien Martinez was more of a factor as well with 105 total yards and a touchdown. On defense, Baron was always around the ball. To go along with his 3 sacks, Baron had 5 tackles, 3.5 of them for a loss.

What it Means

For the Hurricanes, it was a game to make sure the offense was working well. It also provided the Hurricanes' coaching staff an opportunity to get some reserves more playing time. This is a high-powered offense for head coach Mario Cristobal. College football opponents better bring their best game when they face the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes move to 2-0 and welcome Ball State to Hard Rock Stadium on Sept. 14. After outcomes in other games in Week 2, the Hurricanes should expect to rise in the rankings, could they crack the top 5? The Hurricanes are surging this season.

© Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

For the Rattlers, while this is a demoralizing loss, the Rattlers will have some time to recover. Their next game is against Troy on Sept. 21. They begin their conference games on Sept. 28 against Alabama A&M.