Martin Said It. Miami Backed It Up.

I said I was going to leave my group chat alone until Cincinnati week and quietly analyze this one myself. Miami apparently had other plans.

Five offensive possessions. Five touchdowns. A blocked punt returned for another score. By halftime, the RedHawks led Holy Cross 42-0, and my attempt at being a measured, reasonable football fan was in serious trouble.

After Pitt, Chuck Martin said the things I wanted to hear. He acknowledged that Miami’s problems went beyond facing a more talented opponent. The execution, technique and basic responsibilities had to improve. In our preview, the request was simple: Miami needed to look like it had learned something.

Saturday, it did.

The Response We Needed

Miami was supposed to beat Holy Cross. The value of this game was in how convincingly it handled that responsibility.

The RedHawks outgained the Crusaders 328-77 before halftime, scored on every first-half offensive possession and never gave the game a chance to become uncomfortable. This wasn’t a slow start rescued by superior depth. Miami took control immediately.

Martin called the first half “almost flawless” afterward. More interesting was his explanation of what changed.

During the postgame interview, he described stopping a practice rep to explain how a route needed to work against a particular coverage. The team reviewed the bad rep and the walkthrough correction Friday night. On Saturday, that situation came up, and Miami completed the pass.

That is the follow-through I wanted. Identify the mistake, teach the correction and execute it when the game starts. If we’re going to criticize Martin when Miami looks unprepared, we should give him credit when the response looks like this.

McComb Made It Look Easy

David McComb finished 13-for-13 for 234 yards and three passing touchdowns, adding a rushing touchdown before sitting out the second half.

Last week, his composure impressed me because of everything working against him. This week, the supporting cast did its job, and he showed what he could do with it.

He completed passes to six receivers. Lynel Billups-Williams led the way with four catches for 73 yards and a touchdown. Maleek Huggins added 54 yards, while Christian Ross turned a short reception into a 34-yard score with help from downfield blocking.

The offense also recovered when it did make mistakes. An offensive pass interference penalty created first-and-20 early in the second quarter. McComb immediately found Carl Jenkins for 23 yards, then Scoop for another 23. That possession ended in a touchdown instead of a discussion about another drive Miami had ruined.

Martin highlighted McComb’s improving decisions after the snap, including recognizing a coverage change on a touchdown throw. That matters more for his development than simply completing a bunch of comfortable passes against an overmatched defense.

“We were spreading the ball around to everybody; everybody was ready when their opportunity hit them,” McComb said afterward.

That felt like the biggest difference. He had help, and he used all of it.

The Offensive Line Gets Its Bricks

After 27 rushing yards at Pitt, Miami finished Saturday with 201. D’Shawntae Jones led the team with 47 yards on seven carries and scored from two yards out. Multiple backs contributed, and the protection kept both quarterbacks from being sacked.

There wasn’t one enormous rushing total carrying the team number. Miami was able to spread the work around and still move the ball.

Martin credited the backs for finishing runs and the line for creating movement up front. He also made clear that the running game still has work to do.

Fair. But if we’re going to spend time discussing the line when the offense cannot function, we should recognize it when the offense runs this smoothly. The unit earns its first Bricks together.

The Defense Made the Blowout Possible

The defensive performance deserves more than a passing mention underneath McComb’s stat line. Miami’s early stops helped create the conditions for everything that followed.

McCain led Miami with five tackles. Dikos recorded three solo tackles and the team’s sack. Myrick added four tackles, including his stop behind the line.

This wasn’t a defense collecting a pile of takeaways. Miami forced none. It was a defense repeatedly ending possessions before Holy Cross could establish anything, then recovering when the Crusaders finally put a drive together.

That is a meaningful response to what happened at Pitt.

Scoop Keeps Finding Ways

Last week, Scoop nearly broke the game open in the return game. This week, he made his biggest contribution before the punt could get away.

His block set up Colombi’s 23-yard touchdown return and pushed the lead to 35-0. Scoop also added a 23-yard reception and a 10-yard run, but the special teams play is the one that belongs in the story of how this game got away from Holy Cross.

Martin’s explanation afterward was a good reminder that these plays require more than putting a fast player on the field.

“When we recruited [Scoop] for two years, we never talked about blocking punts,” he said.

He credited his assistants for getting talented players to embrace those responsibilities, including the less glamorous work that rarely shows up in a recap. Scoop gets the highlight, Colombi gets the touchdown, and McCain’s stop on the previous play helped make both possible.

Enjoy This One. Then Bring It to Cincinnati.

The three-point second half doesn’t need to become a concern manufactured from the scoring summary. McComb was finished, Caleb Heavner received needed experience, and the teams agreed to a 10-minute fourth quarter.

Martin explained that Holy Cross had already shown McComb its defensive looks. Getting Heavner work mattered, particularly with Thomas Gotkowski’s injury having moved him up the quarterback depth chart.

Holy Cross does not tell us whether Miami can handle Cincinnati’s talent or defensive scheme. It does tell us that this team responded to a miserable opener with preparation and execution instead of letting the frustration follow it home.

That was the assignment. Miami handled it.

My hype is back, and this time I at least have a few numbers to bring to the group chat.