CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Miami’s new faces made quick first impressions.
At this time last year, Miami quarterback Carson Beck was at Georgia. Wide receiver CJ Daniels — he of the spectacular one-handed grab for a touchdown — was at LSU. Running back Marty Brown was at North Dakota State, game-winning-kicker Carter Davis was at Florida Atlantic and wide receiver Malachi Toney was in high school.
They didn’t waste any time making an impact for the Hurricanes, all playing big roles and combining to account for all of No. 10 Miami’s scoring in its 27-24 win over No. 6 Notre Dame on Sunday night in the opener for both teams. The Hurricanes — who play host to Bethune-Cookman (0-1) on Saturday — likely will rise a bit in the AP Top 25 poll that comes out Tuesday.
“Now they know,” Beck said. “I tried to tell people, but they don’t tend to believe what I say. That’s fine. Actions speak louder than words.”
Beck passed for 205 yards and two touchdowns. Daniels and Toney had those scoring catches. Brown had Miami’s lone rushing touchdown and Davis — who missed six of his last eight field-goal tries at FAU over the past two seasons — was 2 for 2 on those in his Miami debut, including the 47-yarder with 1:04 left that provided the final margin.
He became the first Miami kicker to deliver a game winner against Notre Dame.
“There’s a first for a reason,” Davis said.
Brown shared team-high honors in carries with returnee Mark Fletcher Jr., both getting 15 handoffs from Beck. Brown’s first Miami touchdown put the Hurricanes up 21-7 midway through the third quarter, and he got all six carries — for 22 hard-earned yards and two first downs that kept the clock moving — on the drive that set up Davis’ winning kick.
Brown had been part of big games before; North Dakota State won its 10th FCS national crown last season and he had what basically was the title-sealing TD run with 2:41 left in that 2024 championship game. On a bigger stage Sunday night, he looked right at home.
“I felt confident,” Brown said. “It was nothing new to me.”
Toney should still be in high school — he reclassified to be part of Miami’s 2025 signing class. And he led the Hurricanes with six catches (on 10 targets) for 82 yards against the Fighting Irish, a team with what is generally considered to be an elite defense.
“We were trying to keep him a secret,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “But it didn’t take long, right?”
There were tons of questions about Miami coming into Week 1, just as there are about every team when a new season begins.
The Hurricanes lost No. 1 overall draft pick Cam Ward to the NFL after he spent his lone Miami season rewriting the school’s quarterback record book. The school’s all-time receiving leader in Xavier Restrepo graduated, and all six receivers who had more than 10 catches in 2024 aren’t on the 2025 roster. Running back Damian Martinez, who had team highs of 1,002 yards, 10 rushing TDs and 159 carries last year, also is gone.
In the transfer portal era, big holes on rosters can be filled quickly and Miami excels in the portal. Beck was the biggest get, but the Hurricanes knew they needed players to catch his passes and Daniels — who started at Liberty, then went to LSU for 2024 and is now at Miami — was a huge part of the shopping spree there.
“I’ve been chasing CJ for two years,” Cristobal said. “Every time he enters the portal, man, I miss him. We finally got him. And what a play he made. Unbelievable.”
Daniels was hurt when he got to Miami and needed time to recover from a foot injury. But he began making an immediate impact anyway, and what he did on Jan. 16 with nobody watching was probably just as critical as what he did on Aug. 31 with a sold-out stadium and national TV audience watching.
Jan. 16 was the day that Beck walked into the Miami facility as a Hurricanes player for the first time. The first teammate he met Daniels. The click was immediate.
“We looked at each other and we just knew that what we had was about to be special,” Beck said. “Never met the kid. Obviously, I’d heard of him, very talented. But it was just this look of respect and knowing we had the talent and the guys to do this.”
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