<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2VmD57_0vOeXsmx00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2VmD57_0vOeXsmx00" width="1182" height="619" ><p>Miami head coach Mario Cristobal shared his thoughts on his team's performance following a big win over Florida A&amp;M</p><p>Miami handled business on Saturday evening as they handled Florida A&amp;M 56-9 in the home opener at Hard Rock Stadium.</p><p>Quarterback Cam Ward was electric in the Hurricanes win, completing 20-of-26 passes for 304 yards and three touchdowns. Tight end Elijah Arroyo (17 yards), wide receiver Xavier Restrepo (50 yards), and Chris Johnson (9 yards) were the beneficiaries of those Ward touchdown tosses.</p><p>Restrepo led the receivers with 104 yards while Damien Martinez ran for 90 yards and a touchdown on ten carries.</p><p>Defensive end Tyler Baron led the defensive effort with three sacks. Middle linebacker Kiko Mauigoa led the team with five tackles and also forced a fumble.</p><p>Miami took control of the game early, with linebacker Wesley Bissainthe making an athletic interception and then the Hurricanes taking advantage of a short field to to take a quick 7-0 lead in the first two minutes. </p><p>Going into halftime, Miami led the Rattlers 25-6.</p><p>Miami's running game came alive in the second half. Mark Fletcher reached the end zone for the third time this season shortly after generating a 23-yard run earlier in the drive. His 4-yard score put the Hurricanes up 32-6. Damien Martinez quickly followed with a 33-yard score, his first in a Miami uniform after spending the first two years of his career at Oregon State.</p><p>Ward, who scored eight touchdowns on the ground last year at Washington State, collected his first rushing score for Miami on an 8-yard gain to give Miami a 46-9 lead.</p><p>In the fourth quarter, Miami started to empty out the bench and get plenty of young players valuable depth. </p><p>Read on for a look at what UM head coach Mario Cristobal said after the game. </p><h2>Opening Statement…</h2><p>"It was a fast start and then offensively we got a little bit in a rut there. There were some careless errors. We have to coach and play that part better. There was a really good response in the second half, albeit some of the post-snap penalties, which we have to be better at. All-in-all, it was good to play a lot of players tonight. Certainly a lot of young guys got action and played at a high level—particularly the defensive line. They seemed to get relentless pressure on the quarterback and did a good job of stopping the run. It was good to see those freshman linebackers get in there and get a couple of interceptions. We handled our business and lots of areas to get better at."</p><h2>ON HOW BENEFICIAL THESE REPS ARE FOR YOUNG PLAYERS…</h2><p>"There is nothing like repetition. Nothing. There is nothing that you can do in practice or lead them in a walkthrough that can replace the value of that. The value of those reps are tremendous. That is why we kept playing. Both sides respect that. We want our guys to get reps and so do they. You saw a lot of players today. Most of the roster."</p><h2>ON MARKEL BELL STARTING AT LEFT TACKLE…</h2><p>"Jalen [Rivers] was a little bit banged up, so we held him out and I think he will be back really soon. There is nothing too serious there. Proud of Markel. He had the one holding call, and it is hard to protect ring-around-the-rosey sometimes, but I thought he played really well and we will see on film."</p><h2>ON DEVELOPING THE BACK-UPS IN GENERAL…</h2><p>"Truth be told, we have to do a better job of coaching the other half of the roster and helping those players. All of us just have to do a better job because that is the reality of it. Games are going to come down to who is next that steps in—and not just during mop-up duty, but during critical times. We have a very strong commitment to developing those guys and working with them in practice and watching extra film with them and learning the systems so they can not only go out there and compete, but also bring value to the team."</p><h2>ON TYLER BARON…</h2><p>"He is built like an avatar and he is explosive. He has one of the most natural feels for the game of anyone I have seen. He understands leverage and angles. He is really smart. He is locked in and in tune with what is going on. He is always looking for ways to get better and he works hard. He is tough. He checks all the boxes and now he is full throttle. He has shown everybody what he is about and he is another hungry human being. It is our job to push those type of players and help them get better."</p><h2>ON FAMU QB DANIEL RICHARDSON…</h2><p>"He is a great player. He is tough. He knows how to play the game. He has been playing football a long time. He extends plays and delivers the ball on time. He is accurate and he will lower his head a couple of times. He is not afraid. I wish him the best the rest of the season and I respect him."</p><h2>ON DETERMINING THE PASS-to-RUN BALANCE TONIGHT…</h2><p>"It is never a pre-set thing. We put together the game plan and if those guys get on a roll, you let them go. If something doesn't quite work out, we are always assessing. We are always assessing moving forward. We are trying to find ways to move the ball, get yards, and move the sticks. Get the ball to certain guys. There is no set number of handing the ball off."</p><h2>ON THE FIRST TEAM DEFENSE AND WESLEY BISSAINTHE…</h2><p>"The first team defense, I don't know what they held them to in rushing, but when we pulled them out and put some reserves in, they started bending a little bit, so we had to put the starters back in and we made a goal line stand. Then when the reserves started playing well, we let it roll."</p><p>"Wesley is off to a great start. He had a great camp and the best is yet to come for him."</p><h2>ON ZAQUAN PATTERSON…</h2><p>"He was locked in. He had a realization this week that this college football stuff is hard. I have to come on time and learn my stuff to be effective and be successful. He is going to do it and he had much better practices and he earned the trust to go out there and play and he did not disappoint. He is another one we have to do a good job of developing."</p><h2>ON CAM WARD…</h2><p>"You can see what he brings to the table. The exciting part is a guy like that, you can find ways to challenge him because he can do so much more. There is so much more in him that he wants to do for the team. He is very hard on himself. He is the alpha dog leader. It changes things. Certain guys bring a spark and it catches with everybody. He is that guy…He is a real one. He is a stud."</p><h2>ON CAM WARD DIVING FOR THE PYLON LATE IN THE GAME TO GET ANOTHER TOUCHDOWN…</h2><p>"He is not one of those ceramic quarterbacks. He doesn't want to be that. He is a flat out baller. He wants to play ball. He came to Miami to win a championship and he wanted to prove himself as a player—and he is doing all those things. He is actively and with purpose, identifying those things and pursuing to get better in all those areas. I was joking with him about his speed on that, but it was a great game by Cam."</p></div></body>

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Everything Mario Cristobal said following Miami's 56-9 win over Florida A&M

Miami head coach Mario Cristobal shared his thoughts on his team's performance following a big win over Florida A&M. Miami handled business on Saturday evening as they handled Florida A&M 56-9 in the home opener at Hard Rock Stadium. Quarterback Cam Ward was electric in the Hurricanes win, completing 20-of-26...

Everything Mario Cristobal said following Miami's 56-9 win over Florida A&M

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