MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — There likely are few, if any, people in the outside world truly believing that No. 12 Miami will have much in the way of trouble with Florida A&M this weekend.
Everyone knows why: A Power 4 school playing against an FCS school almost always means blowout. Miami has won its last 10 such games by an average score of 60-5, posting shutouts in five of those games and allowing exactly one touchdown in each of the other five.
That’s not great news for Florida A&M. Nor is this: the Hurricanes (1-0) insist that they’re taking the Rattlers (2-0) — and their FCS-leading 13-game winning streak coming into the contest — just as seriously as they did Florida for last week’s ballyhooed season-opener.
“One thing that the coaches tell us is play the game, not the name,” Miami offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa said.
The Rattlers know they’re overmatched in terms of skill up and down the roster. Case in point: they had their scout-team quarterback not throwing the ball to open receivers at times this week, just so he could continue scrambling to emulate Miami star Cam Ward’s abilities.