No. 18 Miami Defeats Bethune-Cookman, 41-13

Wildcats rack up 350 yards of offense

MIAMI GARDENS, Florida -- A close game got away from Bethune-Cookman Saturday as the Wildcats dropped a 41-13 decision in their 2017 opener to 18th-ranked Miami at Hard Rock Stadium.

Malik Rosier threw for 217 yards and three touchdowns and Mark Walton rushed for 148 yards and two scores as the Hurricanes scored on four consecutive possessions – touchdowns on the final three – to erase an early 3-0 deficit.

Larry Brihm, Jr., called into service at the last minute as the starting quarterback, completed his first nine passes and finished 22 of 35 for 212 yards.



Bethune-Cookman scored first on a 36-yard Uriel Hernandez field goal with 7:25 remaining in the opening period. Michael Jones got the drive off to a strong start with rushes of 19 and 11 yards, with Brihm hitting Frank Brown for 11- and 12-yard completions on the 12-play march.

After tying the game, Miami pulled away on a Walton 5-yard score and Rosier's touchdown passes to Lawrence Cager and Darrell Langham.

Hernandez connected on his second field goal – a 35-yarder with 53 seconds remaining that made it a 24-6 game at halftime.

The Wildcats found in the end zone in the third quarter on Jones' one-yard run with 6:16 remaining. Brihm connected with Jamaruz Thompkins for 41 yards to get the Wildcats in the red zone then hit Donald Johnson IV for 13 yards on third down to put the ball at the one.

Jones finished with 43 yards on the ground and seven catches for 51 yards. Jawill Davis extended his pass catching streak to 22 as he caught five passes for 48 yards.



My boy Suber calls his first game and the offense puts up 350 yards against what is supposed to be the best defense in the Atlantic Coast Conference, if not the entire FBS. The Canes were off-balance for several parts of the afternoon affair. There probably is some chewing out going on in Coral Gables as we speak.

Not bad, Suber.

Those glorious 15 or 20 minutes when we're up 3-0 or tied 3-3 and both the stadium and the social media are oh, so silent.

Mike Jones is back. Then again, we knew that in training camp. Totally different team with him in the backfield, aren't we?

We had 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 receivers who caught the ball (and two more). Receivers who caught the ball (and two more). Receivers who caught the ball (and two more). Yeah, I know, but since the rest of the media is finally getting around to us having a Tupac (Isme) and a Montel Jordan on the roster, I just gotta drop some 21 Savage lines to stay ahead of the curve.

Diquan Richardson. He and Walton were going at it the entire game. Afterwards, they talked for two minutes and it was ALL respect between two players who are expected to be the best at their respective positions in their respective leagues. Richardson's going to have a heck of a season if he keeps this pace.

Positives all-around.

The serious injuries list? Nada.

And most importantly: Week one is OVER.

Bethune-Cookman travels to Hammond, La., to meet Southeast Louisiana next Saturday at 8 p.m,

BETHUNE-COOKMAN UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS