The No. 25 Miami Hurricanes beat the Florida Atlantic Owls 38-10 Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, to begin the season 2-0.
Personal player and Miami team records were broken in a game that saw rain showers in the second half.
In the process of securing their third win all-time against FAU in as many tries, the ‘Canes broke the school record for most points in the first two games of a season with 108. The ‘Canes beat the Florida A&M Rattlers 70-3 in a demolition derby a week ago.
The Miami rushing attack picked up where they left off from game 1., where the ‘Canes had three running backs run for over 100 yards (the first time since 1987). Running back Mark Walton scored a personal record four touchdowns on the ground while racking up 155 yards. Walton averaged 9.1 yards on his 17 carries. Three of his touchdowns came from inside the red zone, while the fourth came from 30 yards out. Four touchdowns is a good recipe for a successful Saturday night.
“It feels great,” Walton said. “I’m trusting my o-line. They did a great job tonight. Without them, I wouldn’t have had four touchdowns. Believing in them, trusting them, trusting my reads, hitting my holes well and just running.”
Joe Yearby finished the game with three more carries than Walton but couldn’t match his output. Make no mistake, 123 yards and a touchdown is nothing to sneeze at.
Quarterback Brad Kaaya had a rougher outing that his backfield mates.
Kaaya threw two interceptions and completed just over half of his passes, going 17-31 with no touchdowns. Although he hit tight-end David Njoku on a deep ball, he wasn’t as sharp as he was against FAMU.
For ‘Canes fans looking to see their team improve from week to week, the first quarter was a complete snoozefest. Miami’s first touchdown didn’t come until halfway through the second quarter when Walton scored the first of his four scores.
Thankfully, the defense was there to buoy the team. The Miami defense held FAU to 214 yards on the night and safety Rayshawn Jenkins added an interception that led to Walton’s third touchdown. The squad also recorded seven sacks from seven different players.
Even though the ‘Canes won by 28, they left much to be desired. Their next opponent nearly upset No. 15 Tennessee in week 1.
Miami plays the Appalachian State Mountaineers in Boone, N.C. at 12 pm Saturday September 17.
Alex Goldman is a senior majoring in journalism with a minor in political science. He is currently the Sports Editor of distractionmagazine.com. He’s a Northern California native and loves snowboarding, writing, and above all the Green Bay Packers.
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