No. 7 Miami and Florida A&M are set to meet Thursday night at Hard Rock Stadium for the 13th time, and the numbers tell the story fast: the Hurricanes own an 11-1 edge in a series that has tilted heavily their way for more than 40 years.
The lone Florida A&M victory came in the first meeting, a 16-13 win on Oct. 6, 1979 at Doak Campbell Stadium. That game also stands out as the only road contest in the series.
Ranked No. 1 in Division I-AA a year after winning the first NCAA I-AA championship, FAMU stunned first-year Miami coach Howard Schnellenberger behind Vince Coleman’s 34-yard field goal with 3:49 left. Miami quarterback Mike Rodrigue handled the offense, not freshman Jim Kelly, and Danny Miller later missed a 17-yard field goal with 27 seconds remaining.
Since then, it has been all Miami, starting with a 49-0 shutout on Sept. 13, 1980. That began an 11-game winning streak in the series and set the tone for a long run of one-sided results.
The Hurricanes have also had some memorable milestones buried inside these matchups. In 1992, top-ranked Miami opened its home schedule with a 38-0 win in its first home game after Hurricane Andrew.
Three years later, No. 19 Miami beat No.
25 Florida A&M 49-3 in Butch Davis’ first season, with Ryan Collins throwing touchdown passes to Gerard Daphnis and Yatil Green, Danyell Ferguson rushing for 129 yards and Tony Gaiter taking a punt 46 yards for a score.
The 1999 meeting brought more fireworks. Miami trailed 3-0 after Jeremy Edwards’ 25-yard field goal, then answered with 57 straight points in a 57-3 win.
James Jackson ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns, Kenny Kelly threw scoring passes to Santana Moss and Bubba Franks, and freshman Clinton Portis scored his first two college touchdowns. Freshman quarterback Ken Dorsey also got his first snaps in mop-up duty and threw a 13-yard touchdown to Ethenic Sands.
Aaron Moser blocked a punt out of the end zone for a safety, and Florida A&M finished with six fumbles and minus-17 rushing yards.
Miami kept rolling in 2002 with a 63-17 win to open a national-title defense. Dorsey went 8 of 13 for 110 yards and three touchdowns, including Kellen Winslow Jr.’s first career score, and became Miami’s winningest starting quarterback at 27-1.
Jason Geathers rushed for 199 yards and two touchdowns, Willis McGahee scored on a 19-yard run, and Roscoe Parrish found the end zone on a 46-yard reverse and a 32-yard catch. Florida A&M’s 17 points were its most ever against Miami at the time and ended a stretch of 21 straight quarters without a touchdown against the Hurricanes.
The margin stayed large in later meetings. In 2006, No.
17 Miami ran for 339 yards and piled up 31 first downs in a 51-10 win after a loss to Florida State. Charlie Jones scored twice on the ground, while Tyrone Moss and Javarris James also scored.
In 2009, No. 11 Miami beat 4-1 Florida A&M 48-16 after the Rattlers briefly led 3-0 on Trevor Scott’s 32-yard field goal.
Jacory Harris threw for 217 yards and touchdowns to Leonard Hankerson and Jimmy Graham, Damien Berry rushed for 162 yards, and Thearon Collier returned a punt 61 yards for a touchdown. Curtis Pulley scored FAMU’s only touchdown, and the Rattlers were flagged after lining up with 13 defenders.
Miami then opened 2010 with a 45-0 shutout on a Thursday night, with Harris throwing three touchdowns before sitting in the second half. Hankerson caught two of them, Berry added a touchdown catch, and Ray-Ray Armstrong returned an interception 22 yards for a score.
In 2014, Brad Kaaya threw two touchdown passes to Phillip Dorsett in a 41-7 Miami win. Duke Johnson ran for 97 yards and a 1-yard touchdown, becoming the ninth player in program history to reach 2,000 career rushing yards. Florida A&M’s only points came when John Boston recovered a botched punt snap in the end zone.
The biggest Miami output in the series arrived in 2016, when Mark Richt’s debut as head coach produced a 70-3 win, the highest score in the matchup’s history. Miami scored a school-record 42 points in the third quarter.
Kaaya completed 12 of 18 passes for 135 yards and four touchdowns on his 21st birthday. Joe Yearby, Mark Walton and Gus Edwards each ran for more than 100 yards, Yearby broke loose for a 64-yard touchdown, Braxton Berrios returned a punt for a score, and Malik Rosier added a 19-yard rushing touchdown in relief.
Most recently, Miami won its 2024 home opener 56-9 and never punted. Cam Ward completed 20 of 26 passes for 304 yards and three touchdowns, then ran for an 8-yard score.
Xavier Restrepo caught four passes for 104 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown. Miami finished with 548 yards and did not allow a touchdown, while Florida A&M settled for three field goals.
In Other News...
Miami Secondary Suddenly Faces A Bigger Xavier Lucas Concern
Miamis secondary had already been leaning on youth, and the home opener only sharpened that reality. Xavier Lucas, who started in Week 1, did not play against Florida A&M, and the program offered no injury details for the absence. With the Hurricanes dealing with multiple injuries and absences in the back end, underclassmen like Bryce Fitzgerald and freshman JJ Dunnigan have been pushed into bigger roles sooner than planned.
Mario Cristobal has pointed to the groups versatility as a way to absorb those hits, but the situation also underscores how quickly depth can be tested in the secondary. Miami has spent plenty of time talking about recruiting and development as the foundation for surviving stretches like this, and Lucas status adds another layer of concern for a defense already asking younger players to hold more responsibility. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Secondary Injuries Just Forced A Defensive Shuffle Fans Need To Watch
Miami was forced to improvise in the secondary against Florida A&M, and the adjustment offered a clear look at how thin the Hurricanes have become at cornerback. Bryce Fitzgerald slid over from safety to cornerback, while true freshman JJ Dunnigan was pressed into a starting role at safety, a reminder that this defense is already having to lean on flexibility early in the season.
The injury list at cornerback is what created the shuffle in the first place, with OJ Frederique, Xavier Lucas and Ja'Boree Antoine all sidelined. Some of those players are expected back later in the season, but for now Miami has to keep finding workable combinations on the back end, and the way it handles that stretch will be worth monitoring once the schedule gets heavier. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Freshmen Have A Real Chance To Change The Conversation
Saturdays opener against FAMU at Hard Rock Stadium gives Miami a chance to do more than just get the season started cleanly. It also offers a first real look at a freshman class that could help shape how this team is discussed early on, with defensive backs J.J. Dunnigan and Camdin Portis, quarterback Dereon Coleman and wide receiver Somourian Wingo among the newcomers worth keeping an eye on.
The backdrop matters because freshmen rarely arrive with the spotlight fully on them, yet Miami has several young players positioned to make an immediate impression. Their backgrounds and earlier performances have built enough curiosity to make this matchup more than a routine nonconference game, especially if one or more of them starts changing the depth chart conversation right away. [Read more 🡒]