Recap: Miami football opens home slate with dominant 45-7 win against Holy Cross Crusaders

The gray and cloudy skies may have lingered above Yager Stadium, but they did not affect the spirit of the Miami RedHawks faithful before the team’s home opener against the College of Holy Cross Crusaders. 

Not only did the rain hold off until the final whistle sounded and the teams headed to their respective locker rooms, but those dressed in red, white and black merchandise walked away with smiles on their faces following a dominant performance. 

The first game at Yager Stadium in 2026 officially kicked off at 1:02 p.m. E.T., with the RedHawks sending the ball to the Crusaders for their opening drive. 

The Miami defense stood tall with two run stops and a pass that fortunately bounced off the chest of a Holy Cross receiver to force a punt. 

Miami’s first drive began at their own 47-yard line following an offside penalty on Holy Cross’ junior defensive lineman Gabe Flores. A 13-yard pass completion for redshirt freshman quarterback David McComb started his day in the pocket. A pair of run plays, the first a reverse to freshman wide receiver Scoop Smith for 10 yards and the next to sophomore running back Lazaro Rodgers for seven yards, put the RedHawks in the red zone for the first time. 

McComb handed the ball off to redshirt sophomore running back D’Shawntae Jones for another 10 yards, and a quarterback keeper gave way for McComb to run into the end zone for the first touchdown of the day – his first collegiate rushing touchdown and the first Miami lead of the season.

The Miami defense forced Holy Cross to punt once again after stopping the run, forcing an incomplete pass and capping everything off with a sack on junior quarterback David Lynch thanks to redshirt junior defensive lineman Tyler Dikos.

Miami Head Coach Chuck Martin went back to the passing game, with McComb’s first attempt caught for an 18-yard gain and working forward from there. 

After a false start penalty, senior wide receiver Maleek Huggins hauled in an errant pass from McComb with one hand and put Miami at 2nd and 7 before two run plays put them on a new set of downs. 

On that new set of downs, it took only one play for the RedHawks to convert.

McComb completed a pass to redshirt junior tight end Christian Ross for a 34-yard touchdown – his first of the day through the air. The eight-play, 75-yard drive took 4:45 and put Miami up 14-0.

“He’s dynamic,” McComb said of Ross postgame. “He makes my job super easy. I threw him a 5-yard flat route, and he runs it for 15 (yards). He’s a great player. He’s super unselfish. He doesn’t care if he touches the ball zero times or 100 times; he’s going to go out there and play to his full ability every time. He’s a great teammate.”

Ross finished the contest with three receptions for 51 yards and a touchdown.

The Crusaders still could not find a rhythm on offense. Miami earned a tackle for loss and broke up two passes to force Holy Cross’ third punt of the game on their third drive.

Miami’s offense returned to the field and the unit continued firing on all cylinders. 

Sophomore wide receiver Carl Jenkins hauled in a pass from McComb for 24 yards, and McComb found Smith for his first reception of the game and a gain of 23 yards at the end of the first quarter.

McComb finished the first quarter with 129 yards on eight completions. He did not miss a pass.

The second quarter began with the running backs taking control. All it took was two plays from redshirt junior Rodney Nelson (10 yards) and Jones pushing his way in from the 2-yard line following a defensive pass interference penalty to put Miami up 21-0. 

The RedHawks’ third touchdown in three drives went 54 yards over five plays in 2:44. 

Holy Cross made some changes on their next offensive drive, using senior quarterback Cal Swanson for a run that ultimately went nowhere, but the result was the same as the previous three: a punt.

McComb was called back into action and continued to dissect the Crusaders’ secondary. 

Three straight completions on the only three plays of the drive put another 58 yards of passing on his ledger, and the first year added his second passing touchdown of the day, finding Ohio State transfer and junior wide receiver Demarion Witten. 

The drive lasted just over a minute and a half and put the RedHawks up 28-0 with 10:31 remaining in the second quarter.

Miami’s defense wasn’t letting up on the Crusaders, either. 

After forcing another offensive possession into a punt, it was Smith on special teams making a play and blocking the punt on fourth down. Redshirt sophomore Leo Colombi recovered the ball and ran 23 yards into the end zone to put the RedHawks up 35-0 with just under eight minutes remaining in the half. 

“We’ve been fortunate for a long time here that our players want to go play fourth down,” Martin said. “When we recruited (Smith) for two years, we never talked about blocking punts. So you’ve got to get him here, and the kids buy into that (philosophy). 

“Why wouldn’t he be a good punt blocker? He’s crazy fast,” Martin said. “It’s an important play for us because it’s a guy that didn’t come here to do a job, but he did it, and we can talk about it tomorrow. ‘How many more guys (are willing)?’ (or) ‘What else do you have in your tank that can help us win a football game?’”

Holy Cross managed their second first down and also gathered their biggest passing play of the game on their next drive following the blocked punt. Lynch found junior wide receiver SirCharles Gordon for a 36-yard gain, but a turnover on downs gave the RedHawks the ball back.

McComb found redshirt junior wide receiver Lynel Billups-Williams for 19 yards on the first play of the drive, and two runs by Jones for a total of 30 yards set up a good look for another score. 

After the two-minute timeout, a 1-yard run put the RedHawks at third down, but McComb came to the rescue once more, dropping a 28-yard pass over the shoulder and into the breadbasket of Billups-Williams for a touchdown.

The RedHawks finished the first half up 42-0 with six drives that all ended in a touchdown and McComb a perfect 13 for 13 on passes. His 234 yards in the half was just shy of his full-game 241-yard total from week one against the University of Pittsburgh Panthers.

Overall, six different Miami receivers touched the ball in the first half. Billups-Williams led the team with 73 yards and a touchdown on four receptions, with Huggins and Ross finishing with three receptions each.

“It was great,” McComb said. “We were spraying the ball around to everybody. Everybody was ready for an opportunity to hit them. I don’t think a ball hit the ground today. Everyone was running their routes; they’re exactly where they’re supposed to be, and as a quarterback, that feels great.” 

Miami started the second half with a new man in the pocket, senior Caleb Heavner, who led the RedHawks on a 69-yard drive over 14 plays and 9:35 of game time. 

Rogers gained a total of 31 yards over two plays for the RedHawks from the backfield, while redshirt senior running back Cade Yacamelli gathered another 12 yards, putting them at first and goal. And while the Crusaders managed to prevent another six points from going on the board, they could not prevent a field goal from redshirt junior kicker Kellan McLaughlin, bringing the score to 45-0 with 5:25 remaining in the third quarter.

Holy Cross began their next drive with a 14-yard run from junior running back Datrell Jones. A 21-yard reception from sophomore running back Joseph Williams put the Crusaders in Miami territory, but a dropped pass that looked like a sure touchdown kept the visitors on the 33-yard line. 

Lynch targeted Gordon on two consecutive plays, one earning a first down and the other for an extra 10 yards. With 30 seconds left in the third quarter, Lynch fired a 15-yard pass to the back of the end zone to sophomore wide receiver Lincoln Fisher for a touchdown. 

With the score 45-7 in favor of the RedHawks, and the weather outlook unfavorable, the final quarter was shortened to a 10-minute clock. 

Miami and Holy Cross traded punts (Miami’s punt was their first of the game with 6:03 left on the clock), and the time would wind down with the RedHawks in possession for the final whistle, moving to 1-1 on the season.

“It felt good, obviously, to go be the team you’re supposed to be,” RedHawks quarterback David McComb said. “To come out and just play our offense – and defense played great – this is what it’s supposed to be, Miami football. This is what we want to put on the TV. This is what we work so hard to display to everybody.” 

Miami’s next challenge will be Sept. 19 at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati to face the University of Cincinnati Bearcats for the final battle of the Victory Bell.