The Miami Hurricanes put together a dominant second half to beat Stanford tonight at Hard Rock Stadium, 42-7. The game was tied at halftime, but the Canes blew it open in the third quarter, outscoring the Cardinal 21-0. Oh, and there were actually some outside running plays called. And guess what? They worked great! Hmm. Shocking.

Let’s get to the three stars of the game.

Miami’s big lead back had his best game of the season tonight. The junior rushed the ball 23 times for 106 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also had 3 receptions for 13 yards. The 3 touchdowns were a career-high for Fletch. He definitely carried the load, as both CharMar Brown and Jordan Lyle combined for less than half as many rushing attempts. Fletcher was powerful and decisive in his running. He also had a few outside rushes, something every Miami fan has been begging for. I know Stanford isn’t very good (sorry FSU fans, haha), but tonight’s balanced and multiple rushing attack is something the Canes can build on against better competition.

The best freshman in the country didn’t have a huge receiving game tonight: 5 catches for 52 yards. However, if you watched the game, you know he was one of the best players on the field. Toney started out by making a sick one-handed catch on a off-target pass by Beck for a first down. Later in the second quarter, he ran an end-around that should’ve been stopped for a loss, but made multiple defenders miss for a 13-yard play and first down inside the red zone. To start the second half, Toney had a 31-yard punt return that was oh-so-close to being a touchdown. His very next punt return in the third quarter was a 42-yard scamper that was again very close to going for six. Malachi Toney is special.

After a bad first drive that saw Stanford march down the field for a touchdown, Corey Hetherman’s unit was rock solid the remainder of the game. Even with the Cardinal’s 70-yard opening drive, their offensive totals were putrid: 89 passing yards, 55 rushing yards, 4-14 on third downs, 2 sacks allowed, 2 interceptions. Plus, Rueben Bain Jr. actually drew a holding penalty. Wow! It’s an October miracle! I put that play below instead of one of the interceptions because of how rare it is. I watched the SkyCast broadcast, which was pretty cool I must say. Viewing the game behind the quarterback allowed me to see the non-holding calls even clearer than usual. There were a couple plays where Bain was tackled or wrapped up right in front of the ref. (Deep sigh).

Jordan Lyle – The exciting sophomore running back scored on a beautiful 17-yard run in the fourth quarter. He bounced it outside with ease, showing his athleticism. The Canes need Lyle’s speed in the backfield for the rest of the season.

Xavier Lucas – The Wisconsin transfer cornerback filled up the stat sheet tonight: 3 total tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 pass defended, and 1 interception. Nice.

Tony Johnson – The wideout transfer from Cincinnati had a great catch-and-run, and just looked good overall running in space. His numbers: 3 receptions for 69 yards.

Who were your three stars of the game? Let us know in the comments below.