MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Bethune-Cookman couldn't prevent a successful debut for Miami Head Coach Mario Cristobal in a 70-13 setback to the No. 16 Hurricanes, but the Wildcats did get somewhat of a successful debut for quarterback
Jalon Jones in front of a Hard Rock Stadium crowd of 56,795 Saturday.
Jones, the transfer quarterback making his first start, had his moments in matriculating the Wildcats down the field on a pair of long drives and hit Queshaun Byrd on a 34-yard second quarter touchdown, it wasn't enough against a speedy Hurricane team that scored on all five first-half possession as well as a pick six.
He finished 11of 20 for 243 for yards, in addition to 15 yards rushing on six carries.
Bethune-Cookman enjoyed a brief 3-0 lead after a 63-drive on its opening possession set up the first of two Dylan Moghaddan field goals.
On the drive, Jones converted a third-and-20 with a 24-yard completion to
Marcus Riley and hit
Dylaan Lee for 20 and 28 yards to get the Wildcats inside the Hurricane red zone. A third down attempt to hit
Kemari Averett in the far side of the end was broken up at the last second, forcing the Wildcats to settled for 29-yarder from Moghaddam with 8:54 remaining in the first quarter.
Byrd took a pass in the flat on a wheel route and darted for the Wildcats' touchdown in the second quarter.
Riley, who moved from quarterback to wide receiver during the offseason, got behind the Miami secondary on a 44-yard third quarter catch from Jones that put the Wildcats in the red zone. A pass interference call gave B-CU first and goal, but the Wildcats settled for a 21-yard field goal from Moghaddam that made it 42-13 with 10:30 remaining in the period.
Jones' longest pass of the game was a 48-yarder to Darryl Powell, Jr.
Lee led the Wildcat receivers with five catches for 83 yards. Riley and Byrd each had two catches for 68 and 34 yards, respectively.
Byrd and backup quarterback Tyrone Franklin each had 30 yards rushing.
Henry Parrish Jr. rushed for 108 yards and three touchdowns, while Tyler Van Dyke threw for 193 yards and two touchdowns for the Hurricanes.
Bethune-Cookman now turns its focus to its home opener September 10 at Daytona Stadium, hosting Celebration Bowl champion South Carolina State. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m.
HEAD COACH TERRY SIMMS
"First and foremost, I appreciate the University of Miami and their staff for having us down. This is a first class operation and a good football team. We made some plays. I think they made the plays they were expected to make. We left a lot of plays on the field, but that's just first game jitters. We have a lot of new guys in all three phases - You know you're going to have some miscues here and there.
I think our offense showed up - we spuddered a little bit here and there but we we showed that we have a high powered offense. Special teams - we have to pick it up a little bit. We've some new guys, some young guys on special teams. We will be better and defensively, you know, we have to play better."
ON PLAYING MIAMI REGULARLY:
"I think it's good for our program. There's plenty of positives to it - just for our game speed to get our team up to par. It gives us a measureing stick for our football team. When you play a team, the caliber the University of Miami - with a lot of great coaches and a lot of great athletes - You have no choice, but to play at your best. Our guys, I thought went out and they fought and they played hard. I think it was good for us - it will help our team down the road."
ON THE PERFORMANCE OF JALON JONES:
"I thought Jalen played like we knew he could play, He's been around a little bit. I think he finally found a home here and he's leading our offense . The guys trust him. He's a leader. He does everything he's supposed to do in practice and meetings and it showed today. I thought he had a solid performance today. Did he play up to his potential? Definitely not - I think that's just due to it being the first game and it's been a while since he's been in front of that type of competition and he will be better."
ON TAKEAWAYS LEADING UP TO SOUTH CAROLINA STATE
"I look at the explosive plays that we had offensively. I think that'll be something that will help carry us through the season. Again, we have to clean some things up special teams wise and defensively, but that'll happen. You know, we'll get that done. I think the main takeaway is our guys didn't quit. They never folded, they didn't stop playing and that's something that we will always do and something that's expected in this program."
ON THE PLAY OF DYLAAN LEE:
"He's a guy you have to protect from himself because the way he played in this game today, he practices like that every day. He's a solid guy. He's your hard hat receiver. He comes to work every day. He has no problem, running any route, he plays inside and outside. He's just the guy that when you look for a receiver - he's the prototype. He is a guy that's gonna come to work. He's gonna do the things that he needs to do to be better, each and every play. He works hard every play. That's something I see in all of our receiver group.. But his play was good today and I think he'll only get better."
ON SOUTH CAROLINA NEXT WEEK:
"We're just going to watch this tape tonight and clean it up tomorrow and get ready for South Carolina State. That's always a tough game. I get in trouble every year when I say this, but it's a bloodbath, it's a tough game. Both teams are physical and we're going to continue to be that way. That's the way Buddy prepares his teams and that's the way we prepare our team. So I'm looking forward to the matchup."
JALON JONES
"I think we have a great group of receivers out there. Any one of them can really hurt anybody in any given game. I really believe that we go to three deep in the position and I don't believe anybody in the nation can can hold our receivers.. I think that was evident today. Riley had a great catch over to the top. Dylaan made some good plays. We have to find ways to get Kemari the ball more so he can show out like he does. Overall, I believe are receiving core can play with anyone in the country."
ON THIRD DOWN OFFENSE:
"Honestly, I think, it is a testament to our offense. Just because we didn't get something on first and second down, it doesn't mean that we can't come in on third down to do something that we know that we can do, which is move the chains. So I really think it's more of a testament to our offense on handling adversity and those types of situations. Nothing can stop us. If we get another chance to line up we know we can convert."
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--#HailWildcats—
