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.
Miami has 70
Luke Nickel is throwing some dimes tonight. Third TD pass of the game goes to Vance Spafford. A 21 yard score.
Both Mensah and Nickel have 3 TD passes tonight.
It’s 70-0. There’s still 5:49 left in the third quarter.
Nickel again
And Luke Nickel has his second TD pass of the game. 33 yards to Vandrevius Jacobs. Javian Mallory had a strong 35-yard rush one play earlier.
It’s 63-0 Miami, which has 603 yards of offense.
9:54 left in the third quarter.
Nickel’s turn to run the offense
Luke Nickel opens the third quarter with his first career TD pass. 47-yard shot to Somourian Wingo.
It’s 56-0 Miami over FAMU with 12:36 left in the third quarter
A rundown of halftime dominance
How dominant were the Hurricanes in the first half against FAMU?
They have nearly five times the yardage (453 to 92), have held the Rattlers to 1 of 9 on third down and have scored 49 points despite having the ball for just 13:29.
Darian Mensah had just one incompletion on 15 throws. Mark Fletcher Jr. eclipsed 100 rushing yards on just seven carries. Malachi Toney had 96 yards on four catches.
A slew of underclassmen were on the field for the second quarter. The backups presumably will be exclusively on the field for the second half.
Yes, another Hurricanes touchdown
Freshman Javian Mallory gets his first touchdown as a Hurricane.
11-yard rush. Had 33 yards on three carries this drive.
It’s 49-0 Miami with 46 seconds left in the first half.
Oh, and the Hurricanes get the ball back to start the third quarter.
Mensah to Barkate
Darian Mensah’s third touchdown is a 9-yard strike to Cooper Barkate.
The Miami Hurricanes have 42 points. FAMU has 46 … yards of offense.
42-0 Miami over FAMU with 6:27 left in the second quarter.
Pringle gets his first touchdown
Girard Pringle Jr. shakes and bakes and jukes and shimmies and *insert whatever other phrase you want here* on his way to a 4-yard rushing touchdown.
35-0 Miami over FAMU with 10:10 left in the second quarter.
Miami has 314 yards of offense. FAMU has 44.
Mensah to Toney
Darian Mensah to Malachi Toney, 19 yard touchdown.
It’s 28-0 Miami over FAMU with 14:54 left in the second quarter.
Fletcher with his second touchdown
Another Mark Fletcher Jr. touchdown, this time from 1 yard out to cap a 7-play, 59-yard drive.
It’s 21-0 Miami over FAMU with 6:17 left in the first quarter.
Another quick touchdown
This might already be out of hand.
Miami needed just one play on its second drive to get into the end zone, with Darian Mensah finding Josh Moore for a 55-yard touchdown.
14-0 Miami over FAMU with 11:11 left in the first quarter.
Quick start for Miami
The Hurricanes defense opened the game with a three and out and the offense quickly capitalized on a short field, with Mark Fletcher Jr. scoring on a 46-yard rush.
Miami up 7-0 with 12:37 left in the first quarter.
No Xavier Lucas?
The Hurricanes are already without two cornerbacks for their home opener against the Florida A&M Rattlers on Thursday night.
Could they be without a third?
Junior Xavier Lucas, who has been one of Miami’s primary outside corners since transferring in to UM last season, did not go through pregame warmups at Hard Rock Stadium, putting his status for the game against the Rattlers in doubt.
Tkachuks kick things off
Florida Panthers forwards and brothers Matthew and Brady Tkachuk got festivities going pregame by cranking the Hurricane siren before the team ran through the smoke and took the field.
Miami Hurricanes schedule
Week 1 — Miami 45, Stanford 6: Darian Mensah threw for more than 400 yards and five touchdowns, Malachi Toney caught three of those touchdowns and had a school-record 234 receiving yards, and the defense held the Cardinal out of the end zone for a season-opening rout.
Week 2: Florida A&M, tonight
Week 3: at Wake Forest, Sept. 18, Allegory Federal Credit Union Stadium, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Week 4: Central Michigan, Sept. 26, Hard Rock Stadium, 6:30 p.m., the CW
Week 5: at Clemson, Oct. 13, Memorial Stadium, time and TV TBA
Week 6: Bye
Week 7: Florida State, Oct. 17, Hard Rock Stadium, time and TV TBA
Week 8: Pittsburgh, Oct. 24, Hard Rock Stadium, time and TV TBA
Week 9; at North Carolina, Oct. 31, Kenan Memorial Stadium, time and TV TBA
Week 10: at Notre Dame, Nov. 7, Notre Dame Stadium, 7:30 p.m., NBC
Week 11: Duke, Nov. 14, Hard Rock Stadium, time and TV TBA
Week 12: Virginia Tech, Nov. 21, Hard Rock Stadium, time and TV TBA
Week 13: Boston College, Nov. 28, Hard Rock Stadium, time and TV TBA
Pregame Miami Hurricanes reading
Need to catch up before kickoff? Here are the highlights of the Miami Herald’s coverage over the past few days.
Darian Mensah had ‘complete command’ of Miami offense in debut. What’s next for him?
Three areas where Miami Hurricanes can improve from season-opening win
Miami Hurricanes played plenty of freshmen in rout of Stanford. How they fared
Hurricanes aim to ‘finish the job’ after falling short in 2025. Stanford rout was a start
This story was originally published September 10, 2026 at 6:00 PM.
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Miami Herald
Jordan McPherson covers the Miami Hurricanes and Florida Panthers for the Miami Herald. He attended the University of Florida and covered the Gators athletic program for five years before joining the Herald staff in December 2017.