MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Cam Ward threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns in his first home game for Miami, then capped his day with a run score and the 12th-ranked Hurricanes beat Florida A&M 56-9 on Saturday night.
Ward’s first pass was a touchdown throw to Elijah Arroyo on Miami’s first possession, then he found Xavier Restrepo for a 50-yard touchdown pass as the Hurricanes (2-0) launched a 99-yard drive on their second possession.
Ward completed 20 of 26 passes to help Miami to its 17th straight home win. Restrepo caught four passes for 104 yards and a touchdown, and Damien Martinez ran for 90 yards and another touchdown.
Ward – who threw for 385 yards in Miami’s Week 1 win over Florida – is the third Hurricanes quarterback in the last 25 years to throw for at least 600 yards in the first two games of the season, adding 689 so far. The others on that list: Jacory Harris (656) in 2009 and Ken Dorsey (659) in 2001, Miami’s most recent national title-winning season.
Daniel Richardson completed 13 of 17 passes for 135 yards for FCS member Florida A&M (2-1), whose 13-game winning streak was snapped. The Rattlers beat Miami the first time the teams met in 1979 and have lost 0-11 to the Hurricanes since then.
Tyler Baron had three sacks for the Hurricanes, while Mark Fletcher and Jordan Lyle had rushing scores and Chris Johnson Jr. had a receiving score for Miami.
Florida A&M: Michael Smith made a 49-yard field goal in the third quarter – and got lucky. His first attempt from 44 yards hit the post, but the Rattlers were charged with a false start. They retreated 5 yards and Smith scored on his second attempt with plenty of room.
Miami: Ward was replaced late in the third quarter and the Hurricanes brought in Albany transfer Reese Poffenbarger, who made his Miami debut. Poffenbarger was the FCS’s best quarterback last season with 3,603 yards passing and 36 touchdowns while leading the Great Danes to 11 wins and a national semifinal appearance.
With No. 5 Notre Dame losing to Northern Illinois and No. 10 Michigan losing to No. 3 Texas, it’s possible Miami could return to the top 10 when the new AP Top 25 is released Sunday. The Hurricanes haven’t been a top 10 team since finishing No. 9 in the poll released on Dec. 6, 2020.
Florida A&M: At Troy on Saturday, September 21st.
Miami: Hosts Ball State on Saturday.
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