Middle Tennessee whips The U in Mario Cristobal’s first bad loss at Miami

One of the unexpected results of Saturday’s college football schedule came at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, where the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders hammered the No. 25 Miami Hurricanes 45-31. And hammered is the correct word here because MTSU dominated this entire game.

Miami (2-2) fell flat on its face after last week’s road loss at Texas A&M. Among the myriad of issues that plagued the Canes throughout the afternoon, the story of the game was starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke getting benched in the third quarter for backup Jake Garcia. The once preseason Heisman Trophy dark horse was ineffective, going 16-32 through the air for 138 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.

Meanwhile, Middle Tennessee State (3-1) got three long touchdown passes from Chase Cunningham — a 65-yarder and a 98-yard bomb to D.J. England-Chisholm and a 69-yarder to Elijah Metcalf. Cunningham also completed an 89-yard pass to Jaylin Lane as the Middle Tennessee receivers torched the Miami secondary repeatedly.

It’s the second-straight loss for the Hurricanes, who made big headlines this offseason by luring Mario Cristobal from Oregon. Unfortunately Cristobal couldn’t take some of his top defenders from the Ducks with him.