Date: Fri., Sept. 27, 2024 Time: 7:30 p.m. EDT Location: Miami Gardens, Fla. Stadium: Hard Rock Stadium Television: ESPN Talent: Anish Shroff, Andre Ware, Paul Carcaterra Radio: 560 WQAM Talent: Joe Zagacki, Don Bailey, Jr., Josh Darrow Series History: Miami leads, 25-15 Miami / Miami Gardens: 14-7 Blacksburg: Miami leads, 9-8 Neutral Site: Miami leads, 2-0 Last Meeting: Miami won, 20-14 (Oct. 15, 2022)
MIAMI GAME NOTES
QUICK HITS
• The Miami Hurricanes continue their third season under the direction of head coach Mario Cristobal on Fri., Sept. 27 vs. Virginia Tech. Kickoff for Miami’s Atlantic Coast Conference opener is set for 7:30 p.m.
• Miami is off to a 4-0 start for the second straight year under Cristobal’s direction. The Hurricanes finished off their nonconference slate with a 50-15 win over USF in Tampa, Fla., on Sept. 21.
• QB Cam Ward became the first Hurricanes quarterback in history to open his career with four straight performances of 300 passing yards or more; last time out, Ward threw for 404 yards and three TDs.
• Miami is looking to start a season 5-0 for the first time since 2017, when it started the season 10-0.
• The Hurricanes have topped SEC opponents in back-to-back seasons, having beaten Florida to open 2024 and a top-25 Texas A&M team in 2023.
NOTABLE
• Miami is looking for a strong start to Atlantic Coast Conference play when it hosts Virginia Tech at Hard Rock Stadium on Friday, Sept. 27. Miami is opening conference play at home for the third straight year and is 10-10 all-time in ACC openers since joining the conference.
• Bolstered by the addition of several impressive newcomers and anchored by a talented group of returning veterans, Miami was ranked No. 19 in both preseason polls – and moved up to No. 7 in the Associated Press poll and No. 9 in the LBM Coaches Poll on Sept. 22.
• Among Miami’s top newcomers is QB Cam Ward , who was named ACC Preseason Player of the Year in a poll of media at the conference’s annual media day in Charlotte, N.C. Selected to nearly every major award watch list, Ward became the first quarterback in Miami Hurricanes history throw for 300 yards and three or more touchdowns in his first four starts of the year.
THE MATCHUP
• #7/#9 Miami continues the 2024 season – its third under head coach Mario Cristobal – on Friday, Sept. 27 vs. Virginia Tech. Kickoff for UM’s ACC opener is set for 7:30 p.m. from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
• The Hurricanes are opening ACC play at home for the third straight year. Miami last played Virginia Tech in 2022, when it topped the Hokies, 20-14, on the road at Lane Stadium. UM is 10-10 all-time in ACC openers since 2004.
• Miami is looking to start the season 5-0 for the first time under Cristobal and the first time since the 2017 season.
A LOOK BACK: MIAMI ROUTS USF IN TAMPA, 50-15
• Miami delivered a dominant road performance to cap its nonconference slate, toppling host USF, 50-15, in UM’s first trip to Tampa since 2013. Miami outgained USF, 592-365, to open the season 4-0 for a second straight year.
• QB Cam Ward threw for a season-high 403 yards with three touchdowns and one interception in the rout. RB Damien Martinez recorded the first game of three rushing touchdowns by a UM running back vs. an FBS team since Mark Walton did the same at NC State in 2016. It was the third three-touchdown game of Martinez’ career.
• Ward is tied for the national lead with four games of 300 yards, encompassing all of 2024. His four-game streak of at least 300 yards and three TDs is the longest since Tyler Van Dyke had six straight such games to end 2021.
• UM’s defense limited a top-10 USF rushing offense to just 1.9 average per attempt – the second-lowest rate under Alex Golesh as either a head coach or OC, trailing only a game as Tennessee OC vs. No. 1 Georgia in 2021.
• Miami’s disruptive defense – which ranked No. 1 in FBS in “mayhem” entering the game – finished with seven tackles for loss, four sacks and two interceptions. LB Francisco Mauigoa had a team-high 11 stops and one sack.
MIAMI JUMPS TO #7 IN AP POLL, #9 BY COACHES
• Following their 50-15 win over USF last time out, Miami moved up one spots to No. 7 in the Associated Press top 25 (from No. 8) and two spots to No. 9 (from No. 11) in the LBM Coaches Poll released on Sept. 22. This is tied for the Hurricanes’ highest ranking in the AP poll since Oct. 4, 2020, when Miami checked in at No. 7 nationally.
• Following a 56-9 win over Florida A&M on Sept. 7, the Hurricanes cracked the top-10 of the Associated Press poll on Sept. 8 at No. 10. It was the first time Miami has been ranked in the AP top 10 since Dec. 6, 2020 (No. 9).
• Bolstered by the addition of several impressive newcomers and anchored by a talented group of returning veterans, the Hurricanes are ranked in the top 25 of both preseason polls – checking in at No. 19 in both polls.
• Mario Cristobal ’s highest-ranked team as head coach came in the final 2019 polls, when Oregon was No. 5/5.
• The Hurricanes were not ranked in the 2023 preseason polls, but were ranked in the 2022 preseason polls in Cristobal’s first year as head coach, checking in at No. 16 in that year’s coaches poll and No. 17 in the AP top 25.
• Miami spent four weeks in the top 25 of 2022 (preseason, Sept. 6, Sept. 11, Sept. 18 polls) and also cracked the top 25 rankings of both polls for four weeks in 2023 (Sept. 10, Sept. 17, Sept. 24, Oct. 1). It has been in the rankings of both polls for the first four weeks of 2024.
RESTREPO BECOMES 10th CANE TO ECLIPSE 2,000
• With a six-catch, 99-yard performance vs. USF last time out, WR Xavier Restrepo became the 10th Hurricane in program history to eclipse 2,000 career receiving yards. Over his career, Restrepo has totaled 2,079 yards.
• Earlier this season against Florida A&M (104 yards), the eighth 100-yard game of Restrepo’s career moved him past Andre Johnson (1,831) and Allen Hurns (1,891) into 10th place in program history.
• Restrepo needs 54 yards to pass No. 9 Phillip Dorsett (2,132), 68 to pass No. 8 Travis Benjamin (2,146), 80 to pass No. 7 Mike Harley (2,158) and 82 to pass No. 6 Leonard Hankerson (2,160). With 140 more yards, he’d move past Stacy Coley (2,218) into the top 5 in program history.
• With his eighth career 100-yard performance, Restrepo tied Andre Johnson for the most games with 100 receiving yards by a Miami player since 2000. He was previously tied with Santana Moss and Phillip Dorsett (7 each).
OFFENSE HAS THIRD STRAIGHT 50-POINT GAME
• Miami scored 50 points for the third straight game last time out, topping USF 50-15. The last time the Hurricanes had a season featuring three offensive outputs of at least 50 points was 2001 – when Miami won the national title. Miami had never scored 50 points in three consecutive games prior to this season.
NEW HURRICANES SIGNAL CALLER: QB CAM WARD
• Miami added one of the top quarterbacks in the country in the January transfer window, signing QB Cam Ward after two dominant years at Washington State. Ward, who began his career at FCS program Incarnate Word in 2020, started all 25 games of his Washington State career across 2022 and 2023. He finished his time at Wazzu with 6,963 passing yards and 48 passing touchdowns compared to 16 interceptions, and also added 13 rushing touchdowns in his two years with the Cougars.
• Last time out, Ward became the 13th player to surpass 15,000 career passing yards in college (15,315). He became the first ACC player since Miami joined (2004) with at least 300 passing yards and three touchdowns in each of their four games. He is also the first UM quarterback to begin a season with four consecutive 300-yard games.
• Ward’s 1,035 yards through the air in his first three games were the second-most in program history over a three game start to the season, trailing only Craig Erickson’s 1,126 in 1990. He passed Gino Torretta’s 1991 start (989) with 346 in a 62-0 win over Ball State. Ward has exited all four games early with UM sporting substantial leads.
• In his first start as a Hurricane, Ward threw for 385 yards, three touchdowns and one interception on 26-for-35 passing in a road win over Florida. The 385 yards were the most by a Hurricane quarterback in the first start of his Miami career in the modern era of Hurricanes Football (since 1979). He added 33 rushing yards on three carries.
• Ward became the first Hurricane player in program history to throw for 300 yards in his first two starts when he tossed for 304 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions against Florida A&M. He also rushed for a touchdown in the victory to help propel Miami to a 2-0 start.
• He was the first Miami quarterback to throw for 300 yards and three touchdowns in a season opener since Ken Dorsey did so at Penn State in 2001. Ward was named ACC Quarterback of the Week and Maxwell Award National Player of the Week for his performance against the Gators. He was also named Davey O’Brien Quarterback of the Week, a member of the Davey O’Brien Award “Great Eight” and a Manning Award Star of the Week.
• He passed for 2,260 yards and an FCS-leading 24 touchdowns against four interceptions with two rushing touchdowns in six games during the shortened 2020–21 FCS season, which was played in spring 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He won the Jerry Rice Award as the most outstanding freshman in Division I FCS.
• Ward was named the ACC Preseason Player of the Year in a poll of conference media at the league’s annual “ACC Kickoff” event in Charlotte. Before transferring to Washington State, Ward was named Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Year in his final year at UIW (2021), totaling 4,648 passing yards and 47 touchdowns.
• A native of West Columbia, Texas – with a population of 3,700 – Ward was a “zero star” recruit out of high school. Though he starred in high school, he threw for only 1,070 yards as a junior and had 12 passing attempts per game as a senior due to the program’s focus on running the football.
• Among active players entering the 2024 season, Cam Ward’s career total yardage of 14,140 at the FBS / FCS level far surpassed No. 2 Will Rogers (11,999), No. 3 Seth Henigan (11,483), No. 4 Grayson McCall (11,118) and No. 5 Shedeur Sanders (10,293). Since 2020, Ward and former Auburn / Oregon QB Bo Nix (14,110) were the only players to have surpassed 14,000 yards of total offense (pass and rush). He added 413 yards Week 1 vs. UF.
MIAMI OFFENSE TIED FOR #1 IN PLAYS OF 20-PLUS
• Miami is tied for No. 1 in FBS in plays of 20-or-more yards (37) and No. 3 in plays of 10-or-more yards (87). Of the 37 plays of 20-or-more yards, 30 are passing – most in FBS. Of the 87 plays of 10-or-more yards, 67 are passing. The Canes had only 48 passing plays of 20-or-more yards and 129 of 10-or-more pass yards in 2023.
TIGHT ENDS SHINE THROUGH FIRST FOUR WEEKS
• A season after the entire group finished with 154 receiving yards and one touchdown in 2023, Miami’s tight ends have emerged as go-to options for QB Cam Ward in 2024. In the season opener vs. Florida, Elijah Arroyo had a career-best 89 yards on four catches, Cam McCormick opened the game’s scoring with his first touchdown as a Hurricane, and freshman Elija Lofton had two catches for 38 yards vs. the host Gators in a lopsided win.
• Through four weeks, Miami’s tight ends have totaled 366 yards on 21 catches with four touchdown receptions.
BARON SIXTH IN NATION IN TFL, SECOND IN SACKS
• One of Miami’s most important offseason additions came on the defensive line, when DE Tyler Baron arrived to Coral Gables after an impressive career at Tennessee. Baron enrolled at Louisville for the spring but elected to transfer to the Hurricanes, where he has shined through the first four weeks of the 2024 season.
• Baron, who has started all four games, ranks sixth in the FBS with 7.5 tackles for loss. Baron has 18.0 career sacks – which ranks as 13th-highest active career total among all FBS players. The Knoxville, Tenn., native started once again and put together only the 10th three-sack game over the last 20 years by a UM player vs. Florida A&M. He was named ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week for his performance.
GUIDRY’S DEFENSE CAUSING MAYHEM FOR TEAMS
• Entering Week 5, the Hurricanes rank No. 3 in the nation in “defensive mayhem” – plays on defense featuring a tackle for loss, an interception or a gained fumble. Despite no fumbles gained, Miami has a 17.95% mayhem rate on defense; the Hurricanes have a 11.03% sack rate, a 14.53% tackle-for-loss rate and a 6.20% interception rate.
BALLHAWKS: PFF RANKS SECONDARY #3 IN FBS
• The Hurricanes’ secondary lost four of five starters from a season ago, including both safeties (Kam Kinchens, James Williams), one starting cornerback (Jaden Davis) and its starting nickel (Te’Cory Couch). Despite the personnel losses, Miami ranks as the No. 3 performing secondary in FBS by pass coverage by PFF (92.3 grade).
• Miami ranks No. 35 nationally in passing yards allowed (168.0), No. 13 nationally in passing yards per completion (15.28), No. 2 nationally in passes intercepted (8) and No. 12 in FBS in team passing efficiency defense (90.50).
MIAMI STARTS 4-0 FOR SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR
• Miami head coach Mario Cristobal has led the Hurricanes to a 4-0 start for the second straight season. Cristobal, who started 2-0 with wins over Florida and Florida A&M, is now tied with Howard Buck (1926-1928) for the second-longest streak of 2-0 starts to open a UM career. Larry Coker is the only man in history with four (2001-04).
UM RANKS AMONG BEST TEAMS IN MIDDLE EIGHT
• In the “middle eight” rankings – which tracks the scoring in the final four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half, widely considered the most critical juncture of the game – Miami was No. 16 in FBS in the first two years under Mario Cristobal . Miami is ranked No. 6 in FBS in middle eight this year (+9.3).
• From 2014-2019, teams that won the middle 8 minutes of the game at the FBS level won 74% of the time.
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