Miami hosted Middle Tennessee at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday, a game in which they were heavily favored by 26 points. The Hurricanes got off to a rough start in a stunning 31-45 loss to Middle Tennessee.

Giving up big plays and turnovers were two of the contributors to Miami’s struggles throughout the game. 

The Hurricanes turned the ball over on each of their first three possessions. Tyler Van Dyke threw an interception on their first offensive play of the game, leading to a Middle Tennessee field goal. The following possession, Van Dyke threw a pick-six to Zaylin Wood, putting the Hurricanes in a 10 point deficit early in the 1st quarter. 

On their third possession of the game, Middle Tennessee’s Jordan Branch forced a fumble, which was recovered by Zaylin Wood. Following the fumble, Miami’s defense was able to halt some of the Blue Raiders’ momentum, with an interception of their own.

Despite the Hurricane’s defense stepping up in moments throughout the game, there were too many big plays by the Blue Raiders’ offense, with Middle Tennessee scoring three touchdowns of 60+ yards, including a 98 yard touchdown pass from Chase Cunningham to DJ England-Chisolm in the 4th quarter. Cunningham had a great game, throwing for 408 yards, 3 touchdowns, and an interception. 

Miami struggled to move the ball consistently on offense. Cristobal and his staff put in freshman quarterback, Jake Garcia, midway through the 3rd quarter. Garcia led the team down the field in his first drive of the game, resulting in a Thaddius Franklin touchdown run. Garcia played a solid game overall, leading three touchdowns drives, while throwing for 169 yards and completing 10 of his 19 pass attempts.

Following the game, Cristobal stated, “They coached better than us. They played better than us. They were better; we didn’t do a good enough job. There is no excuse. Real men look in the mirror and do something about it and don’t let it allow any cracks to happen from the inside. We all came here for a purpose and a reason. We got a lot of work to do.”

This is a tough loss for the Hurricanes, especially coming off last week’s loss at Texas A&M, but this is only Cristobal’s fourth game as head coach. Expectations will always be high for this program, but many would argue that it is unrealistic to assume that there would be no hurdles for this Hurricanes team. Cristobal and his staff should be given much more time than four games before fans jump to conclusions about what the future of the program looks like.

Photo credit: Cameron Robertson/FAAZ Sports