No. 5 Miami insists that it won't overlook FCS opponent Bethune-Cookman

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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami coach Mario Cristobal was still replying to texts in the wee hours of what had officially turned into Monday morning, clearly savoring how the Hurricanes had topped Notre Dame in a thriller of a season opener.

The ring he wears to track biometrics said he slept for less than an hour that night. He wasn't complaining.

“You know what? How blessed are we?” Cristobal said. "We get to capitalize on this and be able to wake up the next morning and get right back at it again.”

Such is the approach for now-No. 5 Miami (1-0), which jumped five spots in the AP Top 25 after beating Notre Dame. The Hurricanes next play host to FCS opponent Bethune-Cookman (0-1) on Saturday night.

It's the start of four consecutive games against in-state opponents for the Hurricanes — a first in the school's 100 years of football. After facing Bethune-Cookman, Miami will close out its nonconference schedule against South Florida and No. 13 Florida over the following two weeks and then open Atlantic Coast Conference play at No. 14 Florida State to start October.

Bethune-Cookman opened last weekend with a 42-9 loss at FIU, but Miami quarterback Carson Beck said the Hurricanes won't overlook the Wildcats.

“This team is very internally driven," Beck said. "All offseason, we worked so hard for the whole entire season, not just Notre Dame, the first game. We’re very internally driven. We’re hungry. There’s a lot of people with a lot of things to prove on this team. And humility is always a week away. I think that’s what I’m really trying to stress to a lot these guys is each and every week matters.”

Cristobal also spoke highly of Bethune-Cookman coach Raymond Woodie Jr., plus noted that the Wildcats have several players from the Miami area — so he knows coming home to play the Hurricanes will be incentive for them.

“I know their head coach, he’s a hell of a football coach and a really good motivator and this is a big game for both them and for us," Cristobal said. "Last game has no value if you don’t take care of this next game and that goes on for every game as the season goes on.”

Miami leads the series with Bethune-Cookman 7-0, winning each of those contests by at least 28 points. The Wildcats scored first in four of those seven games, but the average final score in the series is Miami 50, Bethune-Cookman 8.

Miami receiver CJ Daniels, who had the one-handed touchdown catch to help beat Notre Dame, enters this week 15 yards shy of the 2,500-yard milestone for his college career. The TD grab was his first since Dec. 1, 2023, when he was at Liberty.

Maybe Miami's lucky number is 5. The Hurricanes are 12-0 all time when playing as the No. 5 team in the AP poll, their best record for any ranking. They're 4-0 at No. 20 and 3-0 at No. 21 — but have lost at least once when holding every other ranking in the Top 25.

Brandon Washington, who was a standout offensive lineman at Miami before getting drafted in 2012 and playing professionally — four years in the NFL and three more in the CFL — for seven seasons, returns to his former home field Saturday. Washington is Bethune-Cookman's offensive line coach and run game coordinator.

If this isn't the biggest test Bethune-Cookman has faced, it has to be fairly high on the list. The Wildcats played then-No. 8 Florida State in 2013, but Saturday will be the school's first time taking on a team ranked No. 5 or higher in the AP Top 25 at game time.

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