The Hurricanes entered this season with high expectations, and with a dominant win over Florida in Week 1, hype from outside of the program only grew.
Miami moved up to No. 12 in the latest AP poll, and talk of an ACC title and a College Football Playoff appearance from college football pundits increased. Former Hurricane and current Miami Dolphin Jaelan Phillips said, “The ‘Canes are back, baby. I’m stamping it now.”
But the Hurricanes (1-0) themselves are not taking part in that conversation. They moved on from their strong season-opening performance soon after the final whistle, and they are focused on their own home opener against Florida A&M (2-0) at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
“We treat every single game like it’s the championship,” linebacker Francisco Mauigoa said. “We attack FAMU like we’re playing Florida. I think every game, every practice, we’re just going to keep it on another notch. I think this whole team has the mindset to reset and get ready to go for another week. The job is not done, and there’s still a lot of work to do and a lot of people to prove. I think everybody’s getting ready and everybody’s in the right mindset to attack this week just like it’s any other big game.”
Miami coach Mario Cristobal said at his weekly press conference that he and his staff were keeping an eye out for any sign of slacking or arrogance after the season-opening victory. They did not see any.
“The first thing was making sure we took care of business in practice (Monday), everybody early,” Cristobal said. “The first thing we want to look for is anyone not going to get here early because for us, early is on time. Is anyone not going to be taped? Is anyone not going to be wearing the right gear? Because that’s always a sign of just having an arrogance for not doing things the right way. And that’s not the case with this group. This group was here early, ready to work, and they got after it and had a great practice.”
The Hurricanes, unsurprisingly, are prohibitive favorites to beat the Rattlers, who are an FCS team. But FAMU is not a bad program. The Rattlers are the reigning Black national champions after going 12-1 after winning last year’s Celebration Bowl, and they have many former FBS players on the team who transferred to the program. The Rattlers are ranked 24th in Ihe FCS coaches poll.
“Defensively, last year, they were top 10 in every single category, just about,” Cristobal said. “Offensively, they present a lot of problems. Spread offense, a quarterback with a ton of experience who’s played all over the place. Lots of players from South Florida on the team, as well. They have a really good football team.”
FAMU features quarterback Daniel Richardson, who is one of those former South Florida stars. Richardson was a standout at Miami Carol City High, and he originally signed with Central Michigan. He played 33 games for the Chippewas before transferring to FAU last year. He played 11 games for the Owls and transferred to Florida A&M before this season. Phil Steele picked Richardson for his preseason All-SWAC third team.
Former Miami running back Thad Franklin Jr. is also returning to his old stomping grounds. The former Chaminade-Madonna star and UM running back has 16 carries for 56 yards in two games this season with FAMU.
Cristobal also complimented Florida A&M’s first-year head coach, James Colzie III. Colzie was a standout football, baseball and basketball player at South Miami High in the early 1990s. Colzie won a national title as a player at Florida State, and he coached at multiple schools, including FIU and Valdosta State, before joining Florida A&M’s staff in 2022.
“James Colzie is a guy I have a tremendous amount of respect for,” Cristobal said. “Local guy, their head coach now. I know he’s not only a first-class coach, he’s a first-class human being. He’s going to have his team prepared to play.”
The Hurricanes, who were complimentary of the traveling fans who made the trip to Gainesville, are hoping a stadium full of fans greets the Rattlers on Saturday.
“How many ‘Canes fans were there (in Gainesville) was amazing,” offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said. “You look up in the crowd — and everybody talked about how many tickets we got — I don’t know how many were there, but I appreciate those guys.”
On Saturday, the Hurricanes will wearing orange jerseys and orange pants, and they are encouraging fans to also wear orange. Players and staff members are encouraging UM fans on social media to “pack the Rock.”
“They’re excited to come back home and play at home,” Cristobal said. “We want to make Hard Rock an intimidating place to play. We want to make Hard Rock a true home-field advantage. We want to make our families, our community, our fanbase, we want to make everybody proud. And these guys feel equipped and feel prepared and ready to do so.”
