No. 7 Miami set a new ACC record by piling up 856 total yards in its 77-7 win over Florida A&M on Thursday night, even after the teams agreed to shorten the fourth quarter to 10 minutes. It was just one of several records established as part of a non-competitive Power Four vs. FCS game that served little purpose aside from padding Miami's stats and Florida A&M's wallet.
The Rattlers earned a $720,000 check, per the Tallahassee Democrat, for taking a historic beating after getting just three full days of rest following a Sunday loss to South Carolina State. Florida A&M lost several key players to injury in the South Carolina State game, including its top quarterback and starting center. Those absences and the quick turnaround made Florida A&M particularly ill-equipped to compete with a Miami team that closed as a 59.5-point favorite.
The Hurricanes had no trouble covering that spread while tying a school-record for points and setting a new school record for first downs with 42. An UNREAL touchdown grab for Vance Spafford! 🙌📺: @accnetwork pic.twitter.com/1DZU5OgXjZ Florida A&M finished with just four first downs, marking the first time in the modern era an FBS team has finished with a first down advantage of 40-5 or better, according to Sports Reference data. The Rattlers' only touchdown came on a 72-yard fumble return for a touchdown with 6:40 remaining just as Miami was driving to potentially take an 80-plus-point lead.
Miami's offense faced just three third downs the entire game. Even after agreeing to the shortened fourth quarter, Miami did not relent. After getting the football back near midfield with a 77-7 lead and less than a minute remaining, the Hurricanes didn't take a knee.
Instead, third-string quarterback Dereon Coleman handed the ball to reserve back Jack Whitehouse on consecutive plays, gaining another 26 yards for Miami and shattering the previous ACC record for total yards of 845, which was set by Louisville in 2016. First-year Florida A&M coach Quinn Gray called a timeout after Whitehouse ran out of bounds with 14 seconds left in apparent frustration over the 'Canes unwillingness to simply let the carnage end. Miami still refused to take a knee after the timeout as Whitehouse ran for another 10 yards.
Then came what appeared to be a terse postgame exchange between Gray and Miami coach Mario Cristobal. It was an awkward ending to a glorified scrimmage for the Hurricanes before they open ACC play at Wake Forest next Friday. Cristobal explained afterward what apparent value Miami gets from the program's annual tradition of paying non-competitive FCS programs huge sums of money to travel in for a beatdown.
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