Van Dyke accounts for 3 TDs, No. 22 Miami routs FCS member Bethune-Cookman 48-7
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Tyler Van Dyke threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns while playing only the first half and No. 22 Miami eased past FCS member Bethune-Cookman 48-7 on Thursday night.
Van Dyke completed 19 of 23 passes and ran for a score for Miami (3-0), which got touchdowns on five of its six first-half possessions on the way to a 34-0 lead at the break. Emory Williams took over for Van Dyke to begin the third quarter.
Xavier Restrepo had six catches for 120 yards for the Hurricanes, while Jacolby George and Brashard Smith had touchdown receptions.
Ajay Allen ran for two scores for Miami, and Don Chaney Jr. and Chris Johnson Jr. each had a rushing score. Miami has scored at least 38 points in each of the season’s first three games for only the second time in the last 20 years — it also happened in 2016.
Walker Simmons Jr., Bethune-Cookman’s third quarterback of the night, ensured the Wildcats (1-2) would avoid the shutout by scoring on a 6-yard keeper with 1:19 left.
Van Dyke started the night 13th on Miami’s career completions list with exactly 400 as a Hurricane. He’s now 10th with 419, after passing No. 12 Brock Berlin (406), No. 11 Steve Walsh (410) and No. 10 Vinny Testaverde (413).
Next up: No. 9 Craig Erickson (420), No. 8 Ryan Clement (427) and No. 7 Bernie Kosar (463).
Miami linebacker Malik Bryant tackles Bethune-Cookman quarterback Luke Sprague during the first half of an NCAA college football game Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023, in Miami Gardens, Fla. Credit: AP/Lynne Sladky
Van Dyke also passed Walsh for No. 11 on the school’s all-time yardage list, and his 19-for-23 night lifted his career completion percentage to 64.1 — just 0.6% behind D’Eriq King for the best in Miami history.
THE TAKEAWAY
Bethune-Cookman: Starting quarterback Luke Sprague was 3 for 3 on the Wildcats’ opening drive, before getting knocked from the game with a shoulder injury. Sprague had played off the bench in Bethune-Cookman’s first two games. … The Wildcats fell to 0-2 against FBS programs this year, after falling 56-14 to Memphis in the season opener.
Miami: The Hurricanes are 3-0 for the 27th time since the program debuted in 1927. The Hurricanes’ average record in the first 26 seasons where such a start happened: 9-2. … Former Hurricanes coach (and former Hurricanes quarterback) Mark Richt was honored during the game to recognize his looming enshrinement in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Miami coach Mario Cristobal watches during the first half of the team’s NCAA college football game against Bethune-Cookman on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023, in Miami Gardens, Fla. Credit: AP/Lynne Sladky
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Miami will surely remain in the AP Top 25 this coming week. The next five teams closest to the Hurricanes in the poll are No. 17 Mississippi, No. 18 Colorado, No. 19 Oklahoma, No. 20 North Carolina and No. 21 Duke. Should any of those teams fall, Miami may move up a spot or two.
UP NEXT
Bethune-Cookman: At Jackson State on Sept. 23.
Miami: At Temple on Sept. 23.
