Miami fans got an extra five minutes to savor a 70-point blowout in South Beach.
No. 7 Miami’s rout of Florida A&M became so one-sided that the teams used a little-known rule to cut five minutes from the fourth quarter of the Hurricanes’ 77-7 home victory.
NCAA rules allow teams to shorten the clock if both head coaches and the referee agree.
“Any time during the game, the playing time of any remaining period or periods may be shortened by mutual agreement of the opposing head coaches and the referee,” the NCAA rulebook states.
Even Florida A&M’s most optimistic supporters likely did not expect Thursday’s matchup between the national runners-up and an FCS program to be close. Miami entered as a 59.5-point favorite.
The outcome was never in doubt. Miami led 21-0 after the first quarter, 49-0 at halftime and 77-0 heading into the final period, prompting the agreement to shorten the fourth quarter by five minutes.
Florida A&M avoided the shutout with a 72-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Rattlers coach Quinn Fordham Gray Jr. appeared to say something to Miami coach Mario Cristobal during their postgame handshake, though the tone of the exchange was difficult to determine.
Schools rarely use the provision, though Arizona State and Morgan State also agreed to trim five minutes from the fourth quarter during the Sun Devils’ 70-7 win on Sept. 5.
“The referees came over and said coach from the other side asked if we could shorten the quarter, and I said, ‘Yeah, of course, whatever he wants, we’ll do,’” Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham said last week. “I’ve never been a part of a game like that. Didn’t know that was legal. I learned something today.
“I just said, ‘Whatever he wants.’ I don’t know if he wants to be seven minutes, five minutes, 10 minutes…”
Despite the game ending early and Cristobal emptying his bench, Miami posted video-game-like numbers while improving to 2-0.
The Hurricanes’ 856 yards of total offense set the new school record and their 77 points matched the program-high, while their 42 first downs set an ACC record.
Miami QB and Heisman favorite Darian Mesnah completed 14 of 15 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns in a near-perfect performance.
Miami has outscored its opponents 122-13 through two games and faces its toughest game to date next Friday when it visits Wake Forest.
“We had an opportunity to play a lot of guys and see how they fit into our plans and what their roles can be moving forward. Nowadays in college football, that’s invaluable,” Cristboal said.
“You have to play guys you really can’t look at the clock or the scoreboard. You just have to continue developing your roster, and we attempted to do that tonight.”