Miami’s Mario Cristobal era begins with old-school Hurricanes rout over Bethune-Cookman

Goal 1: acccomplished.

The Miami Hurricanes put in the work Saturday, just like their new and already beloved coach Mario Cristobal demanded. The byproduct: a 70-13 season-opening victory against overmatched and overwhelmed FCS-member Bethune-Cookman University.

Another era of University of Miami football began in old-school Hurricanes form: temperatures sweltering in the 90s, the announced Hard Rock Stadium crowd of 56,795 thrilled by big plays and UM scoring on its first five drives.

Miami native Cristobal, 51, won national championships in 1989 and 91 as a Hurricanes offensive lineman, but this victory, no matter how intense Cristobal appeared, had to be special.

“The goal was to be 1-0 by 7:15 and that was achieved,’’ Cristobal said. “There are a lot of bright spots. Certainly things showed up in a positive way in terms of physicality and conditioning and execution, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.’’

The game marked Miami’s 16th consecutive home-opening victory, including a 14-0 record in openers at Hard Rock since UM left the Orange Bowl in 2008. UM scored its most points since 77 against Savannah State in the 2018 opener.

In his 2022 debut, third-year sophomore quarterback Tyler Van Dyke completed 13 of 16 passes (81 percent) for 193 yards and two touchdowns. Van Dyke was replaced by Jake Garcia (8 of 8 for 84 yards) after the starter threw his second touchdown pass (16 yards to Michael Redding III) with 7 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter.

“Jake played great, Tyler was exceptional,’’ Cristobal said. “Both these guys have proven once again that they play winning football for us.’’

Neither Van Dyke nor Garcia was sacked. Freshman Jacurri Brown came in late in the fourth quarter but did not attempt a pass.

The coach also praised his offensive line for “taking control of the line of scrimmage” to allow a strong running game.

Ole Miss transfer Henry Parrish rushed for 108 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries, equaling his 2021 touchdown total for the Rebels. Sophomore Thaddius Franklin added 78 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries. Even two walk-on running backs scored: sixth-year redshirt senior transfer Devon Perry (Richmond Spiders) on a 4-yard rush early in the final quarter; and freshman Terrell Walden II — the son of former Miami wideout Terrell Sr. — on a 2-yard run late in the final quarter to cap the final score.

Slot receiver Xavier Restrepo, Van Dyke’s roommate and favorite target, led UM with five catches for a tidy 100 yards and a 16-yard touchdown.

UM’s defense also did not disappoint.

The Hurricanes had three interceptions (Kamren Kinchens, Gilbert Frierson, James Williams), including a pick-six by Frierson; two sacks, five tackles for loss and blocked a field goal (Jake Lichtenstein).

In his debut, West Virginia transfer defensive end Akheem Mesidor had a pass breakup that initiated the pick-six, sack and tackle for loss.

On special teams, Key’Shawn Smith dazzled with three kickoff returns for 184 yards, including a 72-yard return that was UM’s longest since Corn Elder’s 91-yard, 8-lateral “miracle” return for a touchdown at Duke in 2015.

“I mean, he has excelled at it if you watch tape on different parts of his high school career,’’ Cristobal said. “We spent a lot of time working on a couple of particular returns.”

UM led 14-3 after one quarter on a 4-yard rush by Franklin and 5-yard rush by Parrish. The Canes led 42-10 at halftime, highlighted by two second-quarter touchdowns in a 16-second span. First, Van Dyke’s 52-yard pass to Restrepo set up a 3-yard Parrish touchdown run two plays later. Next, Mesidor’s tipped pass landed in the arms of Frierson, who ran it in for the 32-yard touchdown — UM’s first pick-six since North Carolina last season.

Bethune-Cookman scored first on a 29-yard field goal in the opening quarter and got its first touchdown of the season on a 34-yard pass from Jalon Jones to QueShaun Byrd late in the second quarter after Miami already had built a 25-point lead.

“In several aspects we’re doing what we’re supposed to,’’ Cristobal told WQAM at halftime, “but we’re also having too many lapses. We’ve got to play cleaner, we’ve got to substitute better ....but, overall, the level of intensity and the level of physicality is getting better as the game goes on. We’ve got to have a better second half.”

Saturday was Cristobal’s third season opener as a head coach. He lost in 2007 in his head-coaching debut at struggling FIU but won the opener in 2018 to begin an extremely successful four-year tenure as the main man at the Pac-12’s Oregon.

Next comes Southern Miss at noon Saturday at Hard Rock. The Golden Eagles, who finished 3-9 in 2021, belong to Conference USA and were scheduled to meet Liberty at 7 p.m. Saturday.