Miami Hurricanes (of Coral Gables) rout the other Miami (of Ohio) to open 2023 season

The Miami Hurricanes fed Miami of Ohio a generous dose of truth serum late Friday in their season opener at Hard Rock Stadium, defeating the RedHawks 38-3 a few days after the other Miami’s quarterback declared the real Miami was in “Oxford, Ohio.”

The overmatched RedHawks of the Mid-American Conference, within two scores at halftime, were outgained 125 yards to 8 yards after one quarter, 266 to 72 at halftime, 396 to 120 after three quarters and 493 to 215 at game’s end.

The Canes ran for 250 and passed for 243 with strong blocking up front by a much improved offensive line that got help from two players (Matt McCoy and Samson Okunlola) who served as blocking tight ends up front.

“Played a lot of guys tonight and played a pretty solid brand of football,’’ a pleased UM coach Mario Cristobal said. “Certainly proud of the way our defensive guys came out and put a lot of pressure on their offense and got us some really good field position early.’’

In his 2023 debut, fourth-year UM junior quarterback Tyler Van Dyke completed 17-of-22 passes (77.3 percent) for 201 yards and one touchdown, with one interception. On his first pass of the season, Van Dyke connected with 6-5, 215-pound junior Colbie Young for the 44-yard touchdown on a screen play, and UM led 7-0 1:34 into the game.

Questions arose at the beginning of the week about Van Dyke’s injury status, as reports said he hit the thumb side of his throwing hand against a helmet early last week in practice and was uncertain for the opener. Van Dyke played, as UM coach Mario Cristobal said he would, wearing a black wrap/covering over his right index finger.

Van Dyke, who said his finger was bruised, was replaced by true freshman Emory Williams with about nine minutes left in the game. Williams and sophomore Jacurri Brown were competing for the backup job during fall camp. Brown started two games last season but at times struggled with accuracy despite a strong ‘22 win at Georgia Tech.

Williams completed all three passes for 42 yards.

“He deserved it,’’ Cristobal said of Williams, adding that he was the backup “for today.’’

Miami was led in receiving by Colbie Young’s 79 yards and the touchdown on four catches. Xavier Restrepo added five catches for 68 yards.

Henry Parrish Jr. ran for 90 yards and a touchdown on nine touches, with true freshman Mark Fletcher adding 76 yards and his first career touchdown on nine carries.

RedHawks quarterback Brett Gabbert was 12-of-21 (57 percent) for 127 yards.

The game, attended by an announced crowd of 49,024, marked UM’s 17th consecutive home-opening victory, including a 15-0 record at Hard Rock since moving there in 2008. Just as significant: The Hurricanes (1-0) finally snapped their streak of five consecutive losses at Hard Rock Stadium dating to last season: Middle Tennessee, North Carolina, Duke, Florida State and Pittsburgh in the 2022 finale.

After its opening touchdown, UM scored on three consecutive field goals of 34, 32 and 43 yards by Andy Borregales to make it 16-3 at the half. The RedHawks scored their only first-half points on a 48-yard field goal by Graham Nicholson.

The Hurricanes opened the second-half scoring with a 26-yard rush down the left sideline by Fletcher, the former Plantation American Heritage star. They added two points for a 24-3 lead after a conversion pass from Van Dyke to Restrepo.

Early in the fourth quarter, returning running back starter Parrish made it 31-3 on a 12-yard rush. And Don Chaney Jr. bulldozed through tackle traffic with a 20-yard touchdown run at 4:30 of the final quarter for a 38-3 lead.

The Hurricanes, indeed, went with “running back by committee,’’ as UM offensive offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said they would. Parrish was followed in the rotation by Nebraska transfer Ajay Allen, Fletcher and Don Chaney Jr. The only one who didn’t score was Allen.

Van Dyke was intercepted by defensive back Michael Dowell at 10:55 of the second quarter. the RedHawks took over at their own 40 but were thwarted by a third-down sack by linebacker Wesley Bissainthe.

“It felt amazing,’’ Bissainthe said.

“I love this feeling of winning,’’ agreed UM linebacker Francisco Mauigoa. “And we’re going to continue to win.’’

The Canes now will begin preparing for the preseason No. 23 Texas A&M Aggies, who defeated Miami 17-9 last September in College Station, Texas. The teams are slated to meet at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 9 in a nationally televised (ABC) 3:30 p.m. kickoff.