The Miami Hurricanes won a spirited shootout against the Louisville Cardinals this past Saturday afternoon in the Bluegrass State, 52-45.
Pundits shared all week that the last one with the ball would arguably win this one, which proved accurate as Miami recovered a Louisville onside kick with just under a minute remaining—all-everything quarterback Cam Ward kneeling it out three times as the Canes emerged victorious.
Like the past two showdowns for Miami—another Instant Classic worthy of the Cinematic Recap series the university drops on YouTube every week—as the Canes’ flair for the dramatic continues.
Miami only trailed for about two total minutes in the first quarter, falling behind 7-3 before Ward put the Canes back on top—the same kind of roll-right rope he threw to Jacolby George in the back left corner of the end zone just like the two combined for at Florida in the season-opener.
On the ensuing drive, a calm floater from Ward to Sam Brown that went 49 yards for the score and a 17-7 lead that gave Miami some momentarily breathing room.
The comfort was short-lived as Louisville strung together their own methodic nine-play, 75-yard drive—Miami’s defense again giving up their first of several big plays on the day—albeit this time against Cards’ head coach and play-caller Jeff Brohm, who is one of the game’s better offensive minds.
Raul Aguirre jumped on a loose ball in the end zone—courtesy of Simeon Barrow and Reuben Bain sandwiching running back Isaac Brown—a 24-14 lead for the Canes with 5:01 remaining; Miami forced a missed 52-yard field goal and had just over 90 seconds to try and build on their lead—only to see the offense stall out, with the Cardinals moving it 65 yards in under a minute and cutting the Canes’ lead to a touchdown.
A universal halftime sentiment felt by all; wanting to see Miami respond with a purposeful, hard-nosed ground attack and sustained drive that resulted in seven—stealing back any momentum Louisville got at the end of the second quarter—and the Canes did just that by way of a powerful, 14-play, 75-yard drive that was highlighted by a pile-pushing 21-yard run as Damien Martinez and the entire offensive lined willed themselves to a massive gain on a 3rd-and-6.
The tied felt like it was turning when Ward found Xavier Restrepo for a quick nine-yard out, pushing the Miami lead to 31-17 with 8:21 left in the third quarter.
Of course before Miami faithful could even start talking up the need for a three-and-out, Andy Borregales goal line kickoff was in the hands of Caullin Lacy, who streaked 100 yards for the return and had it back to a seven-point game—matters made worse on the ensuing first down when Mark Fletcher caught a quick pass from Ward, stripped on the tacking and handing the Cards the ball back at the Miami 26-yard line.
Three plays later, Louisville was back in the end zone for the second time in just over one minute of play, tying things up 38-38.
Officially in that familiar we’ve-got-ourselves-a-ballgame with 6:44 left in the third and Ward back under center reassuming the role of conductor, general and magician—Mario Cristobal continued his recent run of knowing when and what to do, going with the feel of the game—Fletcher punched ahead on a gutsy 4th-and-1 from Miami’s own 34-yard line and one play later, Ward dropped a last-second dime to Restrepo that rumbled 63 yards, to the two-yard line, setting up a quick slant to Sam Brown for the score.
Not to be outsmarted or gamed, Brohm dropped his business on the table, calling a fake punt on a 4th-and-7 from the Louisville 28-yard line—while Miami did itself in on the ensuing 4th-and-8 with a holding call that kept the offense alive; the 13-play, 75-yard, almost-five minute scoring drive knotting things up 38-38 with 13:21 remaining.
Each team was looking at another possession or two at this rate—to the point where the defense that got a stop looked to emerge victorious.
Ward quickly found Brown on a 59-yard hook-up before offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson gave Ajay Allen his shot—third-string running back punching it in from two yards out as Miami went 80 yards on five plays in just over two minutes.
In a game where both offenses seemingly moved at will, some defensive heat on quarterback Tyler Slough forced a drive-defining intentional grounding—one play after a 28-yard hook-up with Lacy had Louisville rolling—2nd-and-32 was impossible to overcome as Miami broke up a few would-be completions, forcing the Cardinals’ first punt since the end of the first quarter.
Looking to put it away, Miami went on an 11-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that spanned 6:11—a little more Allen before bringing in Martinez at the 7:43 mark, resting him since the mid-third quarter touchdown drive.
Facing 3rd-and-17 after a sack—Ward sprinted 22 yards to keep the drive alive—setting up one more shot with Allen, before it was back to Martinez on a 3rd-and-3 conversion, as well as feeding the back with the fresh legs once more, where he tore off a bullish, not-to-be-denied 30-yard touchdown run, extending the Canes’ lead to 52-38.
In the spirt of this match-up, Louisville took over with 4:05 on the close, went 77 yards on 13 plays and benefited from a Miami pass interference on 4th-and-8— before overcoming a 1st-and-20 that eventually saw Lacy convert a 4th-and-9—the Canes twice unable to put the game on ice.
Shough to Ja’Corey Brooks for 28 yards with just over a minute remaining—and then back to the talented receiver for the four-yard score—it was again a seven-point game with :54 remaining and half of Papa John’s Stadium filed out; Louisville fans with less faith in the comeback than Miami enthusiasts just wanting the ball back and that clock hitting zero, which it soon did after the onside kick attempt was a dud and Restrepo jumped on the loose ball.
Miami’s top-ranked offense was again electric, going for 541 total yards—Ward throwing for 319 on the day, as well as spreading four touchdowns around to different receivers—while the Hurricanes committed to the run and racked up 222 yards on the ground.
Penalties-wise, Miami kept it clean with five for 55 yards—holding onto the ball for 34:18, with Fletcher’s fumble the Canes’ only turnover—but resulting in points, just as the Cardinals’ end zone cough-up gave the road warriors seven.
The victory not only kept Miami undefeated eight weeks into the season, with five games remaining—what always felt like the hardest stretch of football this year was now in the books; that quirky Friday night ACC opener against dark horse Virginia Tech, the even crazier road trip to Cal—with that 10:30 p.m. ET kickoff—as well as this rare road trip to Louisville, against last year’s conference runner-up that got the better of Miami at HardRock last fall.
Of course the unexpected plot twist after such a magical run this season for the Hurricanes; how quickly expectations have shifted once this team smacked Florida around 41-17 out the gate and any doubt around Ward’s abilities were quickly put to rest.
Digging back into those August narratives, even the most-logical non-Miami critics felt Ward would be “that guy” this season, but that he could struggle early in ‘The Swamp’ as the environment and pressure might swallow him whole.
Once he passed that test and carved up Florida A&M and Ball State, all the ‘trap game’ chatter surfaced regarding the late September road trip to South Florida—whole the Canes went on to dismantle, 50-15.
Of course winning big four games in a row inevitably cause some guard-dropping against a pissed off Virginia Tech team who felt they were a few plays from being undefeated—2-2 after slow starts at Vanderbilt and hosting Rutgers put them in a hole—so it was fast start at Miami, twice sitting on ten-point leads before the Canes rallied late and held on for the 38-34 comeback victory.
The proverbial chinks in the armor were exposed against the Hokies; the Canes’ defense out of position or making some bad choices that gave up some big plays—which carried over to a physical night game at Cal, where Miami had to climb out of a 35-1o hole with a 29-3 rally en route to a 39-38 thriller.
All of which led to Louisville and their 448-yard offensive performance—Shough throwing for 342 yards and four touchdowns, while the Cards’ ground game was good for 106 yards in the loss.
7-0 was always the best-case scenario going into Florida State week—but based on past play, even the biggest diehard was probably thinking 6-1 or even 5-2 if things didn’t go as planned—Florida, Virginia Tech and Louisville all games that drew concern on some level.
Instead, the Canes defied odds and are not just undefeated late in October—they’re set to face a reeling Seminoles squad that enters this weekend 1-6, in what should be a festive, nationally-televised smackdown as Miami hosts a slew of big time recruits in what was expected to be a much more competitive showing considering Florida State was 23-4 the past two seasons and is riding a three-game win-streak against ‘The U’.
Louisville was a must-win game and the type of showdown this program drops in years passed, when the moment proved too big.
There’s a reason the Hurricanes have only reached the ACC Championship once (2017) since joining the conference two decades ago; Miami morphing into a completely mediocre program and averaging out to 7-5 from around 2006 through 2021—yet even with that level of mediocrity, a complete inability by many in this fan base to simply enjoy the ride and this magical 2024 season.
In defense of the cynic, safe bet that crowd is harkening back to that fugazi of a 2017 season—where Miami eked its way to 10-0, before an embarrassing 24-14 regular season-ending loss to a four-win Pittsburgh squad—followed up by a one-of-these-things-doesn’t-belong-here ACC Championship loss, just getting manhandled by No. 1 Clemson, 38-3; matters made worse when the Canes fumbled an Orange Bowl opportunity against Wisconsin, falling 34-24 and dropping the final three games of what was the best season since 2003.
Of course any comparison to that unit is laughable; a lucky-bounce season from the get-go—surviving at Florida State on a last-second play and needing a 4th-and-10 deflected ball to set up a game-winning field goal against Georgia Tech; breaks in those two games, as well as a late fumble at North Carolina—it took every one of those wins to set up prime time night games against No. 13 Virginia Tech and No. 3 Notre Dame in back-to-back weeks that year; packed-house, rowdy home crowds giving the Canes a rare 12th-man advantage this program doesn’t receive.
Miami had some talent and upperclassman leadership on that time, but nothing like this current roster when it comes to offensive line size, running back depth, wide receiver diversity and a maestro of a quarterback running the entire show—not to mention an Air Raid veteran coordinator, in comparison to a very basic operation then-head coach Mark Richt was running with Thomas Brown that year.
There was always a sense in 2017 that any given week could go south—year two under Richt, after a five-year run under Al Golden, on the heels of four years with Randy Shannon, who took over as Larry Coker faded into oblivion. If there was any hope that the former Georgia head coach and one time Miami quarterback would resurrect his alma mater, it as going take year to build a two-deep and championship-caliber roster—especially in a pre-NIL era of college football—a Richt was doing the most with Golden’s leftover and one of his own classes.
The Cristobal Era is a completely different ballgame, as it this sport as a whole in 2024—where two full, highly-ranked classes from the third-year head coach were just the tip of the iceberg; as top-flight portal pulls are also part of fast-tracking this process.
Nobody at Miami was outwardly talking about competing for a national championship as year three got underway, but knowing that a generational-talent like Ward would be distributing the football—with time to do so behind one of the more-talented offensive lines this program has seen in a while—this certainly wasn’t a rebuilding year by any stretch, either.
The ACC title game was always in-play, as Cristobal and crew stacked chips around Ward—be it Martinez and Brown on offense, Barrow, Meesh Powell, Tyler Baron, D’Yoni Hill, C.J. Clark and Isaiah Taylor—all those hit-the-ground-running guys meant to help where there were some youth or depth issues as younger talent continues being added to the roster.
The goal was always somewhat-elusive, “make-a-run” sentiment this year—which really could be described as Miami not pissing away the kinds of winnable games it’d been losing over the last couple of years—while capitalizing on the best quarterback play these Hurricanes had seen in decades.
7-6 last year was legitimately a 9-3 or 10-2 run if Tyler Van Dyke didn’t complete unravel; an interception machine after forgetting how to read two-deep coverage—Miami losing winnable games against Georgia Tech, North Carolina and North Carolina State, where sub-par quarterback play was the biggest culprit in all those setbacks.
Only in Miami could a truly magical season continue unfolding in dramatic, gritty, ballsy, will-to-win fashion—leaving a portion of fans and a slew of outside critics—to over-focus on any of the Hurricanes’ defensive lapses, opposed to the prolific offense that leads the nation and invents new ways to win.
The adage that Miami is “playing with fire” or is due to come out on the wrong end of one of these games—same to be said for bitter rivals with premature excitement and projecting a belief that the Hurricanes will get run out of the College Football Playoffs as soon as they face a “real team”.
Of course the outside noise is easy to drown out for a program that’s forever subscribed to an “us against the world” mentality; but the friendly fire coming from those who can’t enjoy the overachieving nature of this team and offensive records being broken weekly—which is where you want to be in this era of college football, as the old “defense wins championships” approach really doesn’t seem to fit anybody in this season’s landscape—it’s getting to be a bit much.
Miami had Ward for one magical season; as well as a handful of his cohorts on this roster—both the one-year portal guys, as well as the four-year superstars like Restrepo. Next year’s roster will be revamped, albeit in good shape with on-brand recruits and another portal haul by Cristobal and his staffers—but it won’t look anything like this high-flying, trend-setting, respectable-villain that the Hurricanes are playing this year.
Knowing that to be the case; the fact that this season is past the halfway mark and what appears to be the heaviest-lifting of this season in the rearview—Florida State, Duke, at Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and at Syracuse all on deck, with most-likely a showdown against Clemson in the conference title game if Miami wins out—there’s truly no room for, or energy to be spent on pointing out defensive flaws or areas this team needs to clean-up.
What you see is what you get, what will be will be—and wherever it goes, it goes.
Football fans have been told forever that players tend to take on the personalities of their head coach—yet in regards to this current Miami team, it’s The Ward Effect as this roster emulates the behavior of its risk-taking quarterback, who never feels the pressure, always climbs out of a self-imposed hole and rides the highs and lows of every match-up—which has worked thus far.
Miami rolled into this season with a No. 19 preseason rank—climbing all the way up No. 5 by just finding a way; something Florida State hasn’t done, after starting out No. 10 and falling to Georgia Tech in Week 0, with only one win since.
Cristobal’s old program Oregon currently sits a top the heap, while Penn State has stayed undefeated—but lots of the other usual suspects have taken hits.
Alabama survives a comeback attempt by Georgia, only to let Vanderbilt put a 40-piece on them in Nashville—while Georgia responded by humbling Texas this past weekend. Meanwhile, Tennessee’s high-flying offense was grounded after blowing late lead to Arkansas, but they were able to rally to hand Alabama their second loss last week, while Ohio State failed their road trip to Oregon.
Clemson rose from the ashes after their season opening beat-down that Georgia put on them; a No. 14 preseason rank that fell to No. 25 after they got rolled, 34-3—only to quietly sneak back up to No. 10, despite pretty much having only pushed around ACC squads with losing records since the Dawgs got ’em.
As this brilliant little season unfolds, a reminder that comparison will forever be the thief of joy—whether that means comparing this Miami squad to past ones, or merely attempting to size these Hurricanes up with other championship-caliber programs in ahead-of-schedule chase of greatness.
One team wins it all each year, while the rest go home broken-hearted—and when Miami reeled in those five tiles between 1983 and 2001—it truly was a reloading-not-rebuilding, championship-or-bust era of football for the Hurricanes; an earned expectation that ‘The U’ had a better chance than most to be the last man standing.
The Hurricanes lost that level of entitlement as this new century unfolded; on a quest to get it back—albeit with too many false starts or dead ends blocking Miami from getting back on that road to greatness.
Five regular season games remain; each a one-game season as well as a chance to thrive, or merely survive—but staying in the win column is all that matters as the Hurricanes fight for their lives every single week.
In closing, a message for all in Canes Nation; ask yourself W.W.M.I.D. the final month-plus of this regular season: What Would Michael Irvin Do?
‘The Playmaker’ as been a fixture the past three nail-biters; rocking the same lucky Canes shirt and parading up and down the sidelines half coach, half fan, storied football alum and full-blown orange and green madman—rallying kids when they needs it, congratulating after a big play, suffering through painful moments and completely jubilant when each clock hit 0:00 and Miami emerged victorious.
Irvin was a building block for this program in the ’80s. He lost a national championship in 1986 and won one in 1987. He showed this same big energy in the locker room pre-game in 2005 before Miami laid a 10-7 egg at Florida State, while he’s also rallied these Canes in other big moments over the years.
Irvin’s energy around this team is not only infectious; it truly shows the difference between the player and one-time professional, versus the emotion-driven fan.
Just as this team never panics in the face of adversity, Irvin remains an passionate encourager—keeping hope alive until the end, as he’s been there and knows if there’s time left on the clock and plays to be made, the job is to make them—not to focus on the deficit or mistakes that put the team in that hole.
There hasn’t been one post-game comment or sentiment where Irvin is overly-focused on a big play the defense surrendered, or any hole Miami dug itself into—all energy remains focused on the will to win and the Hurricanes can’t-stop-won’t-stop game day approach, where they continue willing themselves to victory.
Yes, there are some glaring weaknesses on this roster that could come back to bite Miami on a night where the stars don’t all align—but there is also something undeniable and magical happening for the Hurricanes with Ward leading the charge; a x-factor where everything remains possible, until it doesn’t.
Five winnable games remain, starting with a revenge opportunity to take down a rival that embarrassed Miami, 45-3 at HardRock two years ago—so set all sights on a primetime showdown with Florida State—and from there it’s four and counting.
Christian Bello has been covering University of Miami athletics since the mid-nineties. Getting his start with CanesTime, he eventually launched allCanesBlog—which led to a featured columnist stint with BleacherReport. He’s since rolled out the unfiltered, ItsAUThing.com where he’ll use his spare time to put decades of U-related knowledge to use for those who care to read. When he’s not writing about ‘The U’, Bello is a storyteller for some exciting brands and individuals—as well as a guitarist and songwriter for his Miami-bred band Company Jones, who released their debut album “The Glow” in 2021. Hit him on Twitter for all things U-related @ItsAUThingBLOG.
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