No. 4 Miami's stiff defense sends Florida spiraling to third straight loss

CharMar Brown rushed for two touchdowns and accounted for 133 scrimmage yards to help No. 4 Miami notch a 26-7 victory over Florida on Saturday night in nonconference play at Miami Gardens, Fla.

Mark Fletcher Jr. rushed for 116 yards and one score while Brown had 80 yards on the ground and 53 receiving for the Hurricanes (4-0). Carson Beck completed 17 of 30 passes for 160 yards and one interception for Miami, which failed to put the game away during a dominating first half before piling on late.

Jadan Baugh rushed for a touchdown for the Gators (1-3), who lost their third straight game. DJ Lagway was 12-of-23 passing for just 61 yards with a long gain of 12 for Florida, which was 0-for-13 on third down and had just 141 total yards.

The margin was just six points before the Hurricanes received late fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns from Brown and Fletcher in a span of two minutes, 12 seconds while posting their third straight 4-0 start.

The Gators trailed 13-0 at halftime after having just 32 yards and one first down. But Florida put together a solid 11-play, 80-yard drive on its first possession of the third quarter.

Florida had five first downs and gained 70 yards on the ground on the excursion that ended with Baugh's 7-yard run with 3:24 left in the third quarter.

On Miami's next play, Beck threw a pass in the middle of the field and Cormani McClain picked it off at the Florida 48-yard line.

The Gators later faced fourth-and-3 from the Miami 33 on the first play of the fourth quarter but Lagway's completion to TJ Abrams was one yard short and Florida turned the ball over on downs.

The Gators went three-and-out on their next possession before the Hurricanes put together a 13-play, 80-yard drive that chewed up 7:12 off the clock. Brown leaped in from the 1 to make it a 12-point margin with 4:08 left. Beck's two-point conversion throw was off the mark.

Fletcher added a 1-yard scoring run with 1:56 remaining.

Miami scored just one first-half touchdown despite having big advantages with 198 total yards and 12 first downs. The Gators were 0-for-7 on third-down conversions and had a long gain of 8.

The Hurricanes found the end zone on Brown's 2-yard run with 9:25 left in the first quarter. Carter Davis drilled field goals of 53 and 28 yards in the second quarter.

--Field Level Media