Miami's two wins to date came by a combined 45-6 over Stanford and 77-7 over Florida A&M, blowouts that padded the record without saying much about how the Hurricanes handle a physical, run-first attack. Add in a forecast calling for light rain and 12 mph wind at an open-air Hard Rock Stadium, and the conditions alone could keep this from turning into the track meet a 54.5 total implies.
Colgate13-10
Florida A&M77-7
None of that changes the math up front. Miami's roster is built from a talent pool the MAC simply doesn't recruit from, and Central Michigan's ground identity worked against a Mountain West opponent, not a Power Four defensive line. The Chippewas' path to staying competitive runs through ball control and limiting possessions, not matching Miami snap for snap.
- QuestionableR. VanWetzinga IV (FB) — VanWetzinga is hampered by an undisclosed injury, and it is up in the air if he will be available against Wyoming on Saturday, September 19th.09/15
- OutJ. Allen (TE) — VanWetzinga is sidelined with a knee injury, and he will miss an extended period.09/15
- QuestionableM. Fletcher Jr. (RB) — Fletcher Jr is hampered by upper body injury, and it has yet to be established if he will be active against Central Michigan on Saturday, September 26th.09/18
- OutJ. Moore (WR) — Moore is battling with an upper body injury, and he will be idle for the remainder of the season.09/21
- OutC. Brown (RB) — Brown is dealing with a lower body injury, and he has been shut down for the remainder of the season.09/21
- OutL. Gilbert (TE) — Gilbert has been out of commission due to an undisclosed injury, and he will be idle for the remainder of the season.08/11
For Miami, this is less about the final score and more about which backups get run and how clean the operation looks heading into the tougher part of the ACC slate. For Central Michigan, simply hanging around into the second half against a ranked team would be its own kind of measuring stick before conference play starts.