Game Thread: Miami Hurricanes Football Hosts FAU

The Hurricanes look to make it two for two this evening, with a visit from the FAU Owls (6PM EST ACCN).

Miami is a considerable favorite, and will once again have the friendly confines of Hard Rock Stadium to their advantage.

Join in with other UM fans and leave plenty of comments below before, during, and after the contest.

Enjoy!

Game Notes (Courtesy UM):

CANES WELCOME FAU TO HARD ROCK STADIUM

• The Miami Hurricanes take on FAU for their second contest at Hard Rock Stadium on Sept. 10 under the direction of first-year head coach Mark Richt. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.

• Miami owns a 2-0 all-time series advantage against FAU. The Hurricanes defeated FAU last season on the road, 44-20. Miami outscored the Owls 24-3 in the second half to seal the victory.

A LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK: THE RICHT ERA BEGINS

• Senior defensive back Jamal Carter, senior offensive lineman Danny Isidora, junior quarterback Brad Kaaya and senior punter Justin Vogel represented the Hurricanes as captains.

• Miami scored on its first offensive series thanks to a three-play, 28-yard drive, which was capped by a four-yard touchdown reception by Marquez Williams.

• The Hurricanes’ first punt of the game did not come until the 3:36 mark of the second quarter.

• Miami outgained FAMU 214-154 in the first half. In the second half, the Hurricanes held a 309-43 advantage in total yards.

• The Hurricanes scored 42 points in the third quarter and took a 70-3 lead into the fourth. The 42 points scored in the third quarter are the most points tallied in a quarter in program history.

• Miami had three 100 yard rushers (Mark Walton, Joesph Yearby and Gus Edwards) for the first time since Oct. 24, 1987 (Leonard Conley, Melvin Bratton and Warren Williams).

MEET THE NEW GUY IN TOWN - MARK RICHT

• University of Miami Director of Athletics Blake James announced on Dec. 4, 2015 the hiring of Hurricane alumnus Mark Richt as the 24th head football coach at The U.

• Richt was officially introduced to the public at a news conference at the Shalala Student Center.

• Richt, born in Omaha, Neb., and raised in Boca Raton, Fla., returned to his alma mater after leading the University of Georgia football program for the past 15 years. During that time he compiled a 145-51 overall record and an 85-40 mark in Southeastern Conference play.

• Richt won two SEC championships, six SEC East titles and nine bowl games and finished the season in the Associated Press Top 10 rankings seven times.

Career Victories - Active Coaches

1. Brian Kelly, Notre Dame, 226

2. Bill Snyder, Kansas State, 193

3. Nick Saban, Alabama, 192

4. Bob Stoops, Oklahoma, 179

5. Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech, 169

6. Terry Bowden, Akron, 160

7. Tommy Tuberville, Cincinnati, 156

8. Urban Meyer, Ohio State, 155

9. Rich Rodriguez, Arizona, 152

10. Mark Richt, Miami, 146

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

• Mark Richt will look to become the ninth Hurricane head coach to win his first two games. Howard Buck, J. Burton Rix, Ernest Brett, Jack Harding, Eddie Dunn, Jimmy Johnson, Dennis Erickson and Larry Coker are the only other Hurricane coaches to win their first two games.

• Quarterback Brad Kaaya currently has 46 career touchdown passes. He needs just one touchdown pass to tie former Cane and Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Gino Torretta (1994-97) for sixth all-time.

• Kaaya will look to throw for 200-or-more yards for the 20th time his career. In 19 of his 26 career games, Kaaya has thrown for over 200 yards. He also has at least one touchdown in 24 career outings.

• Senior wide receiver Stacy Coley needs just 28 yards to move into second place on the all-time kickoff return list.

• If running back Joseph Yearby surpasses 100 yards rushing, it would mark the seventh time in his career in which he has passed the century mark and would tie him for ninth all-time with Tyrone Moss.

• Senior offensive lineman Danny Isidora will look to make his 28th consecutive start. Isidora’s current consecutive start streak of 27 games is the team’s longest.

• Miami is in search of its third consecutive win over FAU. The Hurricanes have never lost to the Owls.

YIPPEE KAAYA

• QB Brad Kaaya is in the midst of his junior season at Miami, where he has already posted career numbers that already rank among the most prolific in program history.

• Kaaya was on the preseason watch lists for eight major honors: the Lombardi Award, the Manning Award, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm, College Football Performance, the Davey O’Brien Award, American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team, the Wuerffel Trophy and the Maxwell Award.

• Kaaya’s 6,571 career passing yards are already the fifth-most in Miami history. His 3,238 passing yards as a sophomore in 2015 are tied for the sixth-most in a single season, while his 3,198 yards in 2014 are the eighth-most. He is the only QB with two individual seasons ranking in the top 10.

• Kaaya’s 46 career touchdown passes are tied for seventh-most in Miami history.

• Kaaya has thrown for 200 or more yards in 19 of his 26 career games and has seven career 300-yard performances. His career high of 405 yards came at Florida State on October 10, 2015.

• Kaaya was one of just three players nationally to throw for 3,000-or-more yards, 10-or-more touchdowns and five-or-fewer interceptions in 2015.

• The California native was one of only 15 quarterbacks in the country to throw for more than 3,000 yards, 26-or-more touchdowns and 12-or-fewer interceptions in 2014; he was the only true freshman quarterback in the country to accomplish the feat.

• As a freshman in 2014, Kaaya was named the ACC Offensive and ACC Overall Rookie of the Year after a stellar first campaign with the Hurricanes.

YEARBY BECOMES NINTH CANE TO TOP 1K MARK

• Joseph Yearby became the ninth Hurricane to top 1,000 rushing yards in a season as a sophomore in 2015, posting a team-high 1,002 yards on 205 carries (4.9-yards-per-carry average).

• The impressive feat marked the 10th 1,000-yard rushing season in Miami history.

• Miami is looking for a third straight season with a 1,000-yard rusher, which would mark just the second such stretch in program history. Duke Johnson rushed for 1,652 yards as a junior in 2014.

• The trio of James Jackson (1,006 in 2000), Clinton Portis (1,200 in 2001) and Willis McGahee (1,753 in 2002) recorded the only stretch of three straight 1,000-yard rushers in Miami history.

• Yearby is joined in the backfield by sophomore Mark Walton and redshirt junior Gus Edwards.

MIAMI BOLSTERED BY ANOTHER RANKED RECRUITING CLASS

• The Hurricanes were joined by an 18-member signing class ranked among the nation’s best and several transfers expected to make an immediate impact in 2016.

• Miami’s 2016 signing class, which was ranked No. 21 by Rivals, was headlined by five mid-year enrollees: QB Jack Allison, DL Pat Bethel, LB Zach McCloud, LB Michael Pinckney and LB Shaquille Quarterman, who all participated in spring practices and summer workouts.

• WR Dayall Harris (Ole Miss), DB Adrian Colbert (Texas) and FB Marquez Williams (Mars Hill) are among those newcomers expected to make early contributions at Miami.

BADG-O-MATIC

• Junior Michael Badgley enjoyed a prolific season in 2015, setting the single-season record for made field goals (25) and besting the previous school record held by Jon Peattie (22, 2003).

• Badgley connected on 10 extra points in the Hurricanes’ home opener against FAMU. He has now made 55 straight PAT kicks and 84 for his career.

• Badgley tied a UM record when he hit a 57-yard field goal against Georgia Tech in 2015.

• The Summit, N.J., native set a school record when he hit five field goals against Nebraska in 2015, and would tie that mark later in the season with five field goals against Pittsburgh.

• Badgley’s 2.08 field goals per game average ranked first in Division I, while his 25 made field goals were tied for fourth-most in the nation. He ranked 16th in scoring (9.6 points per game).

WELCOME TO THE SHOW

• Miami had 12 freshmen make their debuts this past Saturday against FAMU in the form of DL Pat Bethel, RB Travis Homer, DL Joe Jackson, DB Jeff James Jr., TE Michael Irvin II, LB Zach McCloud, WR Dionte Mullins, LB Michael Pinckney, LB Shaquille Quarterman, WR Ahmmon Richards, DB Cedrick Wright and DB Malek Young.

• McCloud, Pinckney, Quarterman and Richards also started for the Hurricanes.

D-JACK DOES IT

• In his first career start, defensive lineman Demetrius Jackson wasted little time in anchoring a defensive line that limited FAMU to just 43 second-half yards.

• Jackson also registered single game career bests in sacks (2.0), tackles for loss (3.0) and tackles (5.0).

#TIGHTENDU TRADITION ALIVE AND WELL

• A trio of players will help continue the #TightEndU tradition for the Hurricanes in 2016: senior Standish Dobard, junior Christopher Herndon IV and redshirt sophomore David Njoku are expected to play significant roles in the offense this season.

• In the season-opener against FAMU, all three tight ends caught passes (Herndon 2-42, Njoku 2-15, Dobard 1-15).

• Njoku led all tight ends with 21 catches and 362 yards as a redshirt freshman in 2015, topping first-year numbers from some of the greatest tight ends in Miami history, including Jeremy Shockey (21 catches / 296 yards), Greg Olsen (16/275) and Bubba Franks (19/294).

• Herndon caught 18 passes for 237 yards and also hauled in one touchdown.

• Dobard, the veteran of the group, started seven games and totaled 90 yards on eight catches.

• Miami added two tight end signees in 2016: Jovani Haskins and Michael Irvin II.

EDWARDS SHINES IN RETURN TO THE GRIDIRON

• Redshirt junior running back Gus Edwards returned to the lineup this past weekend against FAMU. Edwards missed the entire 2015 season with a foot injury suffered during preseason training camp.

• In his first action since 2014, Edwards rushed for 106 yards on seven carries and one touchdown.

• Edwards rushed for 349 yards and six touchdowns as a sophomore in 2014 after posting 337 yards and five touchdowns as a freshman in 2014. He has a career rushing average of 5.4 yards.

MAKING HIS MARK

• Running back Mark Walton got off to an impressive start to the 2016 season as he rushed for a career-high 116 yards and had one touchdown.

• Walton delivered an impressive first season with the Hurricanes as a freshman in 2015, ranking second with 1,054 all-purpose yards and first with 10 total touchdowns.

• Walton’s 10 touchdowns - nine rushing and one receiving - were tied with Stacy Coley (2013) for second-most by a Miami freshman since 2000.

• Walton, who had 461 rushing yards and 293 receiving yards, was one of just 11 freshman running backs nationally with eight-or-more rushing touchdowns in 2015.

• With a four-yard rushing touchdown and a 25-yard receiving touchdown against Georgia Tech (Nov. 21, 2015), Walton became just the third Hurricane to score a rushing TD and a receiving TD in an ACC game (Travis Benjamin, Stacy Coley).

THE SPECIALIST NAMED PRESEASON ALL-ACC

• Senior punter Justin Vogel earned Preseason All-ACC honors after a stellar junior season in which he was recognized with All-ACC third-team honors by media and All-ACC honorable mention from the league’s coaches.

• Vogel averaged 42.5 yards per punt in 2015, while his 73-yarder against Clemson on October 24 was the longest of any ACC punter in 2015. He totaled 13 punts of 50 yards or more last season.

• Vogel was one of 28 punters to be named to the watch list for the 2016 Ray Guy Award. Vogel is a three-time Ray Guy Award nominee, and was a semifinalist for the award in 2014.

• After spending the 2013 season at Florida, Vogel averaged 42.8 yards per punt & 62.1 yards on kickoffs in 2014. He was named third-team All-ACC by Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.

RETURN TO FORM

• Wide receiver Stacy Coley had a dominant freshman season in 2013, earning Freshman All-America honors and All-ACC recognition after leading the team with 1,461 all-purpose yards.

• After a quiet 2014, Coley had a return to form in 2015. Despite missing two games with a hamstring injury, Coley finished second on the team in catches (47) and receiving yards (689).

• Coley’s 79.2 yards-per-game average in conference play ranked second in the ACC.

• Coley caught at last three passes in each of his final nine games, and had 678 yards over that span. The junior recorded a touchdown catch in back-to-back games for the first time since November 2013 when he hauled in scores against both Duke (Oct. 31) and Virginia (Nov. 7).

CONSISTENT CANES

• Offensive lineman Danny Isidora, leads all Hurricanes with 27 straight starts.

• Fellow offensive linemen Nick Linder and Trevor Darling also have proven to be mainstays on the Hurricanes’ offensive line as they have both started 19 straight games.

• Isidora, Linder, Darling and running back Joesph Yearby were the only Hurricanes to start in every game last season.

• Miami’s active all-time start leaders include quarterback Brad Kaaya (26), defensive back Rayshawn Jenkins (23), wide receiver Stacy Coley (21) as well as Linder (19), Darling (19) and Yearby (13).

• Tight end Standish Dobard (11), receiver Malcolm Lewis (11), offensive lineman Sunny Odogwu (10), defensive lineman Trent Harris (10) and defensive back Corn Elder (11) also have double-digit starts.

TAKE THREE

• The Hurricanes are 16-1 since 2011 when forcing three or more turnovers, plus the Canes have won 61 of their last 66 games when recording at least three takeaways.

The list of three-takeaway games since 2011:

Oct. 22, 2011: Miami 24, Georgia Tech 7, 3 turnovers forced.

Sept. 1, 2012: Miami 41, Boston College 32, 3 turnovers forced.

Sept. 29, 2012: Miami 44, N.C. State 37, 6 turnovers forced.

Nov. 1, 2012: Miami 30, Virginia Tech 12, 3 turnovers forced.

Nov. 17, 2012: Miami 40, USF 9, 3 turnovers forced.

Sept. 7, 2013: Miami 21, Florida 16, 5 turnovers forced.

Sept. 21, 2013: Miami 77, Savannah State 7, 4 turnovers forced.

Sept. 28, 2013: Miami 49, USF 21, 3 turnovers forced.

Oct. 5, 2013: Miami 45, Georgia Tech 30, 3 turnovers forced.

Nov. 23, 2013: Miami 45, Virginia 26, 4 turnovers forced.

Sept. 27, 2014: Miami 22, Duke 10, 3 turnovers forced.

Oct. 11, 2014: Miami 55, Cincinnati 34, 3 turnovers forced.

Oct. 23, 2014: Miami 30, Virginia Tech 6, 3 turnovers forced.

Nov. 15, 2014: Florida State 30, Miami 26, 3 turnovers forced.

Sept. 11, 2015: Miami 44, Florida Atlantic 20, 5 turnovers forced.

Sept. 19, 2015: Miami 36, Nebraska 33 (OT), 3 turnovers forced.

Oct. 17, 2015: Miami 30, Virginia Tech 20, 4 turnovers forced

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION

• Miami scored 70-or-more points for just the third time in school history this past Saturday as the Hurricanes hung 70 points on FAMU in their home opener.

• The Hurricanes outgained FAMU 523-197 in their home opener.

• Miami’s offense over the past two seasons has been among the most explosive in program history, ranking second in 2014 (5,594) and ninth in 2015 (5,161).

• UM compiled 5,536 total yards in 2013, which ranks as the third-best total in history.

ALMOST PERFECT 10

• Teams do not beat Miami when scoring 10-or-fewer points.

• The Hurricanes are now 159-2 in their last 161 games when holding opponents to 10 points or fewer, after winning 70-3 in its 2016 season-opener against FAMU. That run goes back to Oct. 1, 1977, ironically, a season that began with Miami holding its first two opponents to exactly 10 points apiece and still losing both of those games.

• The only 10 points allowed-or-less losses since: Nov. 8, 2003 to Tennessee (10-6) and Sept. 5, 2005 to Florida State (10-7).

GETTING DEFENSIVE

• Miami’s defense held FAMU without a touchdown. The Hurricanes have not allowed a touchdown in six straight quarters dating back to last season.

• The Hurricanes held FAMU to just 43 second half yards.

• In 2015, Miami’s +11 turnover margin ranked as the best mark in the ACC and the 10th-best mark in all of FBS during the 2015 season. The Hurricanes finished the year with 25 turnovers gained and 14 turnovers lost.

• Miami’s defense recorded 15 interceptions, which ranked 21st in FBS and fourth-best in the ACC in 2015.

A THREE-HEADED MONSTER

• From 2001-2015, Miami had three players run for 100 yards in openers. In 2016, Miami had three players run for 100 yards in the 2016 opener alone (courtesy of the AP).

• Miami running backs Mark Walton, Gus Edwards and Joseph Yearby all surpassed the century mark on the ground in the Hurricanes’ opener against FAMU as they rushed for 116, 106 and 105 yards, respectively.

• The Miami running back trio combined to rush for 327 of the Hurricanes’ 373 yards.

• Walton’s 116 yards rushing was a single-game career best.

PAVING THE WAY

• The Hurricanes offensive line paved the way for 373 yards on the ground against FAMU. Miami surpassed 300 yards rushing for the first time since its 2014 trip to Viriginia Tech.

• Center Nick Linder was named to the Lombardi Award, Outland Award and Rimington Trophy preseason watch lists. Fellow offensive lineman Danny Isidora also was named to the Outland Award watch list.

• UM entered the 2015 season with one of the youngest offensive lines in the ACC, totaling 23 starts. Miami offensive linemen now have 90 career starts.

• In 13 games last season, Miami’s youthful offensive line, which consisted of a combination of one redshirt freshman, three sophomores and two juniors, allowed the Hurricanes to average 401.4 yards per game in total offense.

• Miami’s offensive line allowed just 19 sacks, which ranked as the fifth-fewest in the ACC.

• In addition, the Canes ranked fifth in the nation in average tackles for loss allowed (4.20).

A SPECIAL TEAM

• Miami special teams played a major factor in the Hurricanes’ season-opening victory over FAMU.

• Junior Braxton Berrios’ 41-yard punt return for touchdown in the third quarter was the first of his career. Berrios’ punt return for a touchdown was the first of his career. It also marked the first time a Hurricane had scored on a punt return since Corn Elder did so against Bethune-Cookman in 2015.

• Pat Bethel’s first quarter blocked punt was the first by a Miami player since Garrett Kidd did so since back in 2014 against Virginia (Nov. 22).

• Junior Michael Badgley also connected on 10 extra points.

CAN OF CORN

• Cornerback Corn Elder continued to build off of his strong junior campaign as he picked off a pass and tallied a pair of tackles in the Hurricanes’ home opener against FAMU.

• Elder emerged as one of Miami’s top playmakers in 2015.

• Elder took the final lateral of "The Return" 91 yards to give Miami a 30-27 win over Duke.

• Elder tied for fifth in the ACC with 13 passes defended (1.0 per game).

• Elder led all UM cornerbacks in sacks with 2.0 in 2015.

THE CAPTAINS

• This season Miami will select its captains on a game-by-game basis.

• In week two, junior offensive lineman Nick Linder, senior defensive backs Corn Elder and Rayshawn Jenkins and junior wide receiver Braxton Berrios will represent the Hurricanes during the coin toss.

• In week one, senior defensive back Jamal Carter, senior offensive lineman Danny Isidora, junior quarterback Brad Kaaya and senior punter Justin Vogel represented the Hurricanes during the coin toss.

#PROCANES CONTINUING TRADITION

• Miami currently has 41 #ProCanes on NFL rosters; 22 of 32 NFL teams had at least one former Cane on their roster, while the Indianapolis Colts lead all teams with four.

• Miami had two players selected in the 2016 NFL Draft this past year.

• DB Artie Burns (1st round, PIT) and DB Deon Bush (4th, CHI) were selected.

• Miami had eight former student-athletes sign free agent contracts following the 2015 season: Rashawn Scott (MIA), Tracy Howard (CLE), Ufomba Kamalu (DEN), Calvin Heurtelou (DEN), Calvin Heurtelou (HOU), Herb Waters (GB), Tyriq McCord (PIT) and Raphael Kirby (DET).

• The Hurricanes have had five or more players taken in the NFL Draft on 24 separate occasions since 1980.

• Ninety five Hurricanes have been picked in the NFL Draft since the start of the 2000 season, a figure that is tied for second-most among all NCAA programs.

• Miami’s 29 NFL first-round draft picks since 2000, including Artie Burns (No. 25 overall) in 2016, are the most among all NCAA programs.

ZAGACKI AND BAILEY RETURN TO THE BOOTH FOR YEAR 15

• "Voice of the Hurricanes" Joe Zagacki and color commentator Don Bailey, Jr. return to the booth for their 15th year of Miami football on the radio.

• The radio team has broadcast 215 straight games together.

2016 Miami Hurricane Football Affiliates

Miami’s Sports Radio 560 WQAM: Miami- Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach

WKWF AM Sports Radio1600: Key West- Marathon-Key Largo

ESPN West Palm 106.3FM: West Palm Beach

WPSL 1590 The Talk of the Treasure Coast: Stuart-Ft Pierce-Port St Lucie

WSTU AM 1450 Martin County’s Heritage Station: Stuart-Jupiter

WFWN 97.3 The Fan: FT Myers-Naples

WHOO 1080 SPORTS TALK 1080 Orlando-Kissimmee

WHBO 1040 Sports Talk 1040: Tampa-St Petersburg

WXIC 1060 AM: Melbourne-Titusville

1010XL-92.5FM: Jacksonville Sports Radio - Jacksonville - St. Augustine

1490 WTKE: Fox Sports Radio Northwest Florida’s New Home for Sports-Pensacola

UP NEXT

• The University of Miami football team travels to Appalachian State on Sept. 17. Kickoff for the game, slated for broadcast on ESPN/ESPN2, is set for Noon.