Does FAMU football have a shot against Miami? Our prediction

Florida A&M football is trying to pull off a mission that seems impossible this Thursday, Sept. 10.

The Rattlers have a Week 2 road game against Miami, ranked No. 7 by USA TODAY, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. Kickoff is at 8 p.m. on the ACC Network.

FAMU (1-1) is a member of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision and comes off a 31-13 loss against the defending Black College National Champions, South Carolina State, at the Sept. 6 Orange Blossom Classic at Hard Rock Stadium.

The Miami Hurricanes (1-0) are a perennial college football powerhouse, playing on the Football Bowl Subdivision level. They were the College Football Playoff runner-up last season, falling to Indiana.

Last week, Sept. 4, Miami dominated the Stanford Cardinal on the road 45-6.

All-time, FAMU is 1-35 against FBS teams. The lone win was a 1979 triumph against the Hurricanes, 16-13, at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Can the Rattlers recreate history, let alone have a chance against the Hurricanes? Let’s meet the teams and predict the game.

FAMU football vs Miami: Tale of the Tape

Quarterbacked by Duke transfer Darian Mensah, the Hurricanes have a high-powered offense. He completed 27 of 30 passes for 401 yards and five touchdowns.

Mensah’s top target is wide receiver Malachi Toney, who broke Miami’s single-game receiving yard record, with 234, in Week 1. He added 12 catches and three touchdowns in the blowout win over Stanford.

Mensah and Toney are Heisman Trophy candidates early into the 2026 college football season and have surefire futures in the National Football League.

As for FAMU, its defense just allowed South Carolina State to pick up 479 total yards, including 292 rushing yards. South Carolina State running back Mason Pickett-Hicks had 210 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

The Rattlers’ defensive back Justin Bostic was the top performer with six tackles and two interceptions, including an 80-yard pick-six.

The Rattlers’ offense was icy, as they only posted 161 total yards last week.

Starting quarterback Isaiah Knowles completed 7 of 22 pass attempts for 94 yards and was sacked twice against South Carolina State. He won’t play on Thursday or for the remainder of the year after suffering a season-ending thumb injury in the third quarter last week in the third quarter. Backup Dustin Fletcher will likely start.

FAMU had -1 rushing yards after allowing five quarterback sacks and 15 tackles for loss.

Defensive back Marquise Lightfoot led the Miami with nine tackles, and Armondo Blount anchored the line with two tackles, a tackle for loss, and a sack.

FAMU football at Miami score prediction

• Gerald Thomas III score prediction: Miami 63, FAMU 6

Reasoning: Miami is just too much for FAMU. The Rattlers don’t have the manpower to compete with a top FBS team fresh off a national title game appearance and multiple Heisman-worthy talents. The biggest thing for FAMU is to come out of Thursday healthy for when it returns to FCS play against Tennessee State.

Florida A&M (1-1) at Miami (1-0) ― Week 2

• When: Thursday, Sept. 10, at 8 p.m.
• Where: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
• TV/Streaming: ACC Network, 96.1 JAMZ

Florida A&M football scores and full 2026 schedule

Current record: 1-1

All times are Eastern

• Saturday, Aug. 29: FAMU 20, Albany State 7
• Sunday, Sept. 6 (Orange Blossom Classic): South Carolina State 31, FAMU 13
• Thursday, Sept. 10: at Miami, 8 p.m., ACC Network
• Saturday, Sept. 19: vs. Tennessee State, 7 p.m., HBCU GO
• Saturday, Sept. 26: vs. Alabama A&M (SWAC), 7 p.m., SWAC TV
• Saturday, Oct. 3: BYE
• Saturday, Oct. 10: at Alabama State (SWAC), 3 p.m., HBCU GO
• Saturday, Oct. 17: at Jackson State (SWAC), 3 p.m., ESPN Network
• Saturday, Oct. 24: vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (SWAC/Homecoming), 3 p.m., HBCU GO
• Saturday, Oct. 31: vs. Southern (SWAC), 3 p.m., HBCU GO
• Saturday, Nov. 7: at Alcorn State (SWAC), 3 p.m., SWAC TV
• Saturday, Nov. 14: vs. Mississippi Valley State (SWAC), 3 p.m., SWAC TV
• Saturday, Nov. 21: vs. Bethune-Cookman (SWAC/Florida Classic), 3:30 p.m., ESPN+

Gerald Thomas, III, is a multi-time national award-winning reporter for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat under the USA TODAY Network.

Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at [email protected] or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Does FAMU football have a shot against Miami? Our prediction