The Miami football team pulled away in the second half for a 30-7 win over Southern Mississippi on Saturday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium. Miami used a balanced offense for the second straight game. Tyler Van Dyke threw for 230 yards and a touchdown and Miami ran for 190 yards on 43 carries.
Henry Parrish led Miami running for 102 yards and a TD in his second straight 100-yard game with three receptions for 18 yards. Thad Franklin ran for 66 yards and a TD with two receptions for 18 yards. Jaylan Knighton returned after missing the season-opening win over Bethune-Cookman. Knighton ran five times for 17 yards.
Miami got off to a sluggish start in the first half. The Hurricanes needed a one-yard TD run from Parrish with 20 seconds remaining in the first half to take a 10-7 lead at halftime. Miami gave up several big plays but the defense allowed only 231 total yards and forced six punts and two turnovers on the last eight drives.
D.J. Ivey and Corey Flagg paced the Miami defense with five tackles. Leonard Taylor had two tackles for loss and Flagg was one of four Hurricanes with one TFL. Tyrique Stevenson had an interception in the end zone to end a Southern Mississippi drive in the third quarter and Miami added two fumble recoveries.
The Miami defense did an exceptional job against Hurricanes’ legacy running back Frank Gore Jr. Gore ran for a career-high 189 yards last week in a 29-27 four-overtime loss for Southern Mississippi versus Liberty. Gore finished with seven carries for 10 yards and two receptions for 13.
Van Dyke spread the ball around with five different Miami receivers recording at least three touchdowns. Xavier Restrepo led the Miami football team in receiving for the second straight game. Restrepo had five receptions for 58 yards. Brashard Smith had four receptions for 53.
Key’Shawn Smith had a 38-yard TD reception from Van Dyke in the third quarter off a flea flicker. The trickery came 2:14 after a Franklin seven-yard TD run. Smith finished with three receptions for 49 yards and the TD. Van Dyke finished 19-29. Miami ended the game with a 436 to 231 advantage in total yards.