MIAMI – From the first snap of the game between the Miami Hurricanes and the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, it was clear how this game was going to turn out for both teams.
In a 63-0 blowout victory, Miami gained 590 total yards of offense (333 passing, 257 rushing) and scored five rushing touchdowns, while allowing just 137 yards of offense to Bethune-Cookman.
The win gave the Miami Hurricanes their first of the season and the first in the career of new head coach Manny Diaz.
“Honestly, for me, I am just so happy for the players because we have put them under an immense amount of work and really challenged them,” Diaz said about earning his first win of the season. “You want them to see the reward for their hard work, so for them to see that was great.”
The Miami Hurricanes began their scoring early in the first quarter, when DeeJay Dallas scored on a 1-yard rushing touchdown. It was the first of three Dallas rushing touchdowns, the first time a Hurricanes player ran for three touchdowns in a game since quarterback Malik Rosier ran for three scores against Toledo in September 2018.
Following the game, Diaz called the junior running back a player the Hurricanes can count on.
“I think that he is a guy that you want to build the identity of your offense around,” Diaz said. “When you think of the Miami Hurricanes’ offense, you think of some hard-running, downhill great tailbacks, and I think DeeJay [Dallas] wants to be in that legacy.”
When asked about his own performance, Dallas said that he still needs to get better at his craft.
“I still have a lot of improvement that I need to make,” Dallas said. “Once I do make that improvement, I feel like our offense will kind of move better because if you have an efficient running game, it makes the passing game better.”
Redshirt freshman Jarren Williams made his third career start and much like the first two, stayed turnover free. Williams completed 19 of his 24 passes for 254 yards and three touchdowns. Williams was also never sacked.
“Jarren [Williams] continues to improve,” Diaz said about the performance of Williams. “We talked about trying to hit some more down-the-field shots and I thought his reads were better on that. But, like I said, going through the course of the game, there will be so much that he can improve on.”
Wide receiver KJ Osborn continued his strong connection with Williams. After an interception by Robert Knowles, Williams found Osborn in the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown right before half.
Osborn finished the game with 58 yards and a touchdown.
On defense, Knowles earned the start following his strong performance against North Carolina. He did not disappoint.
Along with the interception right before halftime, Knowles finished with two total tackles and was credited with half a tackle for loss.
“It was a blessing. It was an honor and I’d like to thank God that I played productive,” Knowles said about wearing the turnover chain for the first time. “And having the turnover chain, I’ve always wanted it. I’ve always dreamed that I would go get it, and today was the day that I got it.”
Palm Beach Gardens alumnus Gurvan Hall, Jr. finished second on the team in total tackles (four) and was one of two players to sack Bethune-Cookman quarterback Akevious Williams.
Following the game, Diaz applauded the performance of Hall and the secondary.
“I thought Gurvan [Hall] was solid and I thought the back end of our secondary was solid,” Diaz said. “We made a big deal about our defense not giving up big plays and that had been breached in the first two weeks. We made a big deal about that, which means that your defensive back play and the tackling in your secondary had to be good. Gurvan was at the forefront of all of that.”
Miami (1-2): Will host Central Michigan (2-1) next week (Saturday, Sept. 21, 4 p.m. kickoff; ACC Network)
Bethune-Cookman (1–1): Will play on the road at Mississippi Valley State (0-2) next week (Saturday, Sept. 21, 7 p.m. kickoff)
PHOTO CREDITS: Keith Forde
