MIAMI OPENS with an easy 41-17 win over Bethune-Cookman, capping the first full weekend of the college football season.
Big games from Rosier, Walton help host Miami overpower B-CU
CORAL GABLES – The preseason All-ACC running back put together an impressive showing. The new starting quarterback was effective and efficient with both his arm and his legs. And while the defense gave up some points on the game’s opening drive, it rebounded and held the opponent largely in check the rest of the way.
For the most part, things went as expected Saturday afternoon for the 18th-ranked Hurricanes, who opened a season of high expectations with a 41-13 win over Bethune-Cookman at Hard Rock Stadium.
It was Miami’s second opener under coach Mark Richt, its first with Malik Rosier under center. And while the Hurricanes (1-0) know there is still work to be done and progress to be made, it was for many of them, a solid first effort.
“We are thankful for the victory. A lot of really good things happened,” Richt said. “One of the things I didn’t like was the number of penalties, again. We just can’t get out of our own way, especially in the red zone offensively. … We ran the ball pretty darn good. … Overall, I thought they played well.”
Added Rosier: “Like Coach said, it was great, but that’s not championship level. That’s not what we need. We’re going to go back through, fix the mistakes that we had and we’re going to get better and we’re going to get ready for Arkansas State. That’s the big thing. We have to keep going forward now.”
Rosier, making his debut as the Hurricanes starter, wasted little time in showing the offensive weapon he can be for the Hurricanes, breaking free for a 23-yard run on Miami’s first offensive play of the year. He later ran a similar play to open the second half, scrambling on a 15-yard run to start a drive that eventually ended with a 6-yard Mark Walton touchto down run.
But that mobility isn’t the only reason Rosier emerged from a four-player race to earn the starting nod after his former roommate Brad Kaaya opted to bypass his senior year and enter the NFL draft.
Rosier completed 17-of-28 passes for 217 yards and three touchdowns. While at times he was inconsistent and streaky as Kaaya’s backup, against the Wildcats Rosier was consistent and smart, distributing the ball among his many playmakers and evading would-be tacklers.
Among the players Rosier turned to was Walton, the Hurricanes MVP last season. And the running back delivered, finishing with 148 yards and two touchdowns for his seventh 100-yard game at UM.
It was Walton’s 5-yard touchdown run in the opening minutes of the second quarter that put the Hurricanes ahead for good, and from the start, there was little the Wildcats could do to stop the motivated junior.
“There was a lot of talk in the beginning of the game, and I wanted to be physical,” Walton said. “They were talking and we were out there playing football. I just wanted to be aggressive in the beginning, and coach Richt and [offensive coordinator Thomas Brown] talked to me about changing it up a little bit, but I wanted be aggressive a little bit.”
And although the defense — expected to be one of the best in the ACC this season — gave up 350 yards and allowed a pair of fourthdown conversions, save for a late third-quarter touchdown, the Wildcats were held out of the end zone.
“It was definitely good to be out there and get our feet wet again,” linebacker Shaq Quarterman said. “We needed to play somebody. Practicing against each other, you can get tired and start going through the motions. Just getting back out there, I felt amazing.”
SATURDAY’S BOX