Led by two freshman quarterbacks, Hurricanes crush outmanned CCSU
It took an FCS team that plays its home games in a 5,000-seat stadium and didn’t compete last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic — and two young backup quarterbacks who excelled in their first real taste of college football — to spark joy Saturday for the Miami Hurricanes.
No matter how insignificant the target of their bullying, the
Hurricanes were thrilled to get the win and play lots of youngsters doing it.
Miami defeated Central Connecticut State University 69-0 at Hard Rock Stadium, raising its record to 2-2 and finally giving the Canes something to smile about. That is, at least until next Thursday when they meet Virginia at 7 p.m. on national television (ESPN) in their Atlantic Coast Conference opener and first of eight consecutive ACC games.
Saturday marked UM’s largest margin of victory since a 77-0 shutout of Savannah State in 2018 and third largest margin of victory in school history.
“I’m proud of our football team today — obviously, against an overmatched opponent,” said coach Manny Diaz, recorded since 2007.
Howard has tormented quarterbacks, young and old, with an uncanny ability to get his hands on the ball, but one that doesn’t seem so unfathomable given his past as a quarterback and receiver. who all but emptied his bench by the end. “I thought the most important thing today was Miami and how we played.”
Led by second-year freshman starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke and true freshman quarterback Jake Garcia, with usual starter D’Eriq King sidelined by a shoulder injury, the Hurricanes scored on their first seven drives. They amassed a school-record 739 yards, 488 of them by halftime in front of an announced (but considerably smaller) crowd of 44,019. They
Attending Wheatley High School in Houston, Howard’s first passion was basketball. (Wheatley also produced former Raiders cornerback Lester Hayes, the 1980 Defensive Player led 21-0, 49-0 at the half and 62-0 after three quarters.
The defense, which held the Blue Devils to 198 yards, sealed the shutout when Joseph Zoppi’s fourth-quarter, field-goal attempt from 30 yards out fell short.
As expected, the Heat has not forgotten about what happened four months ago. Center Bam Adebayo is among those who still forces himself to relive the Heat’s early playoff exit.
The Heat was swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the eventual NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks in May. Miami lost the final three games of the series by an average margin of 26.7 points.
Adebayo, 24, has watched tape of those games this summer.
“That’s a lesson. We got our ass whooped,” Adebayo said to the Miami Herald last week. “That’s a lesson. You learn from that to make sure it never happens again. That’s the goal, to never have that type of playoff performance, playoff series again for us.”
The Heat is carrying that lesson into next season, with Media Day on Monday and the start of training camp set