As the No. 5 Miami Hurricanes cruised to a 45-3 win against Bethune-Cookman, they now turn to an unexpected heavyweight matchup against No. 18 South Florida.
The Hurricanes (2-0, 0-0 ACC) and Bulls collided last year at USF’s home field, Raymond James Stadium. In what was a competitive first half, Miami pulled away in the last 30 minutes of the game. The Hurricanes soundly defeated the Bulls by a score of 50-15.
A lot has changed on both sidelines since then. The Bulls are more physical than ever and looking to knock the wind out of the Hurricanes.
Under third-year head coach Alex Golesh, USF (2-0, 0-0 American) has gotten off to an incredible start. The Bulls defeated No. 25 Boise State in Week 1 on Saturday took down No. 13 Florida on a game-winning field goal as time expired. USF made history, marking only the third unranked team since 2000 to start 2-0 by beating two ranked opponents.
“They [USF] are playing as good football as anyone in the country,” head coach Mario Cristobal said. “Playing at a high level, really explosive football team.”
USF’s senior quarterback, Byrum Brown, has been dominant to start the season. In last week’s win against Florida, Brown threw for 263 yards, one touchdown, and completed 23 of his 36 passing attempts. He has a solid arm, but his mobility is unmatched. Brown can dance out of the pocket, evade tackles, and cut up the defense with his legs. He tallied 66 rushing yards, including a long 20-yard run. The dual-threat QB already has 109 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
“Hard to contain, hard to bring down. He contains the best of both worlds for a modern-day college quarterback,” Cristobal said.
Defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman added, “[We have to] take the quarterback run game away this week.”
Explosivity is a common theme on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball for USF. Junior wideout Kehshaun Singleton hauled in a 66-yard touchdown grab, with two defenders in coverage against Florida. Late in the game, down 16-15, sophomore running back Alvon Issac came up big on a dump-off pass from Brown, breaking tackles for a crucial 35-yard gain.
Defensively, the Bulls are capable of getting to the quarterback and stopping plays in the backfield.
In the process of a 45-3 rout of Bethune-Cookman, sixth-year redshirt senior quarterback Carson Beck made history. He broke the Miami record of consecutive completions with 15. Vinny Testervede previously held the record for 39 years with 14 completions. The Georgia transfer finished the game going 22-of-24 passing for 267 yards and two touchdowns.
Sixth-year redshirt senior wideout CJ Daniels has been a highlight reel in his first two games as a Hurricane, catching both of Beck’s touchdown passes. Daniels ended the game with 73 yards on five receptions.
Freshman wideout Malachi Toney also excelled, hauling in six catches for 80 yards. The South Florida native showed off his speed and agility by breaking tackles all night long.
It will be key for the pass game to keep on clicking but also for the running back room consisting of Mark Fletcher Jr, Jordan Lyle, and CharMar “Marty” Brown to continue their hard-nose style of running.
Despite the defense only giving up three points, the level of play dropped slightly after the first two drives. Bethune-Cookman managed to get down the field a few extra times than they really should have.
While Miami was able to use some of their depth late into the game thanks to the big lead, this week’s game will fare differently.
After being banged up the past few weeks, it seems more than likely that sophomore wideout Joshisa Trader and running back Jordan Lyle will be good to go for this week’s matchup. It was announced that freshman and former five-star recruit Hayden Lowe will be out for the season with an injury.
Just like the Notre Dame game, this matchup will come down to the defense. Both teams have explosivity on the offensive side of the ball, but it will be the defense that must prevail to make the necessary stop.
This game is shaping up to be one of the biggest matchups in week three, and starts the stretch of three straight games of playing in-state FBS opponents for Miami.
“They’re as meaningful as you can imagine. Anytime you play in-state, they are rivalry games,” Cristobal said.
This enticing matchup is set to kick off at 4:30 p.m. at Hard Rock Stadium this Saturday. The game will air on The CW.