The Hurricanes have a different task ahead of them this weekend.
In Week 1, Miami played one of the best teams in the nation, then-No. 6 Notre Dame. The national spotlight was on the Hurricanes, and they responded with a statement victory.
The spotlight is not on them this week. After a short week following their Sunday night win over the Fighting Irish, No. 5 Miami (1-0) hosts FCS opponent Bethune-Cookman (0-1) at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Although UM will almost certainly beat an overmatched opponent, the trick is staying focused when a lower-level opponent is visiting Hard Rock Stadium.
“I don’t think it’s very difficult, honestly,” quarterback Carson Beck said. “I think this team is very internally driven. All offseason, we worked so hard for the whole entire season, not just Notre Dame (in) the first game. We’re very internally driven. We’re very hungry. There’s a lot of people with a lot of things to prove on this team, and humility is always a week away.”
Miami has played Bethune-Cookman twice in Mario Cristobal’s first three years at UM, beating the Wildcats by a combined score of 118-20. Bethune-Cookman has not been a particularly good FCS team, going 7-27 over the last three seasons. The Wildcats suffered a big opening-season loss, falling to FIU 42-9 last week.
Although Bethune-Cookman struggled in Week 1, the Hurricanes are still locked in on their next opponent.
“We don’t get too high in the good times,” wide receiver CJ Daniels said. “We don’t get too low in the bad. So we’re just staying level-headed and we’re focused on this week.”
The game does offer a homecoming for the 17 Bethune-Cookman players from Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach counties, but the Wildcats’ chances of winning are minuscule.
“They do have a lot of good players because we scout everybody,” Cristobal said. “There’s a lot of players from Florida, out of state, on that team that we know and recognize. And whenever teams have a lot of returning starters up front — automatically dangerous. They can block you. They can do some things to hurt you.
“And I know their head coach, know him really, really (well). He’s a hell of a football coach and a really good motivator, and this is a big game for both them and for us.”
For the Hurricanes, this week offers a chance for the team to correct any mistakes the team made against the Fighting Irish. The offense had several three-and-outs in key spots against Notre Dame, and the defense had some mistakes that resulted in big plays.
“I feel like we stepped up to the occasion, for sure,” defensive lineman David Blay Jr. said of his unit, “but we left a lot on the table.”
If Miami pulls far ahead of Bethune-Cookman on Saturday, UM will get the chance to play some of the younger players.
“I think we all witness every single week in college football that if you’re not in on your game at your best, you’ll be exposed,” Cristobal said. “And we don’t want to learn that kind of a lesson.”
