The Miami Hurricanes faced their first big test of the season, and they aced it.

Miami beat Texas A&M 48-33, earning national praise and a spot in the AP and Coaches polls for the first time this season. But there are still 10 regular-season games left , including this Thursday night’s matchup with Bethune-Cookman at 7:30 p.m. at Hard Rock Stadium. The Hurricanes cannot get cocky now.

“Bluntly. Right to it,” UM coach Mario Cristobal said when asked how to handle the early success.

“Let’s call it what it is. The same praise that they’re getting now is coming from the same sources that were throwing dirt on them before. Praise and criticism, those things aren’t there at 4:30 in the morning when you’re up and you’re working and whatnot in each and every part of the process when things get better or when things don’t go as planned. We’ve made a very conscious decision to just be internally motivated and to get up and have an appetite to just get better, to be the best that we can be at what we do.”

But Miami did earn the praise. They beat a team considered among the most talented in the nation. So Cristobal said the coaching staff will need to keep pushing the players, and the players need to keep pushing their teammates.

“That’s easier said than done,” Cristobal said. “That requires everyone pushing each other, having high standards and being very accountable in all phases. And it starts with the coaching staff. I’ll always remember, as a player, feeling the mood, the vibe of the coaching staff.”

Miami hosted Bethune-Cookman at the start of last season and rolled to a 70-13 victory. Even though the Hurricanes cruised to that win, they are still taking the Wildcats seriously.

Cristobal spoke highly of Bethune-Cookman starting quarterback Luke Sprague, who has completed 74 percent of his passes for 244 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also complimented the Wildcats’ ability to move the ball.

“On offense, just really fast,” Cristobal said. “Just a lot of guys that run well. They stretch you horizontally, they stretch you vertically.”

On the other side of the ball, Cristobal said the Wildcats defense can force opposing offenses into mistakes. Bethune-Cookman surrendered 56 points to Memphis but held Savannah State to six.

“We see speed and disruptiveness up front on the defensive line,” Cristobal said. “They jump into the odd front, four-down, they bring pressure. They bring it from all sorts of places. They bring it from the edges, internally. They’re really athletic on the edges and they force a lot of bad plays.”

Cristobal knows Wildcats coach Raymond Woodie Jr. well. The two worked together on Willie Taggart’s staff at Oregon. Cristobal was the co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, and Woodie was the outside linebackers and special teams coach.

“Great man, great football coach,” Cristobal said.

“Very fond of him because, again, I was on the other side of the country … and he was always awesome with my kids. You always remember that, right? Because who’s it toughest on? Families, right? For me, you put me on the moon, I’ll be happy doing football all day. Families make the moves, and it’s difficult on them. Coach was always awesome with my kids and with the players on the team, so tons of respect for him, the job he’s doing. He’s got a good football team. ”

Because Miami is the toughest team on Bethune-Cookman’s schedule this year, UM offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said he expects Woodie and the Wildcats to give the Hurricanes everything they’ve got.

“They don’t have anything to lose,” Dawson said. “So they’re probably going to come in and throw the kitchen sink at us.”