2 weeks Ago By Miami Herald
It’s rivalry week. The Miami Hurricanes vs. the Florida State Seminoles.
It’s almost always an entertaining matchup between these two regardless of the records. And the records this season couldn’t be anymore different. The No.
6 Hurricanes are a perfect 7-0. The Seminoles are 1-6. Miami is a three-touchdown favorite.
Will Miami continue its torrid run to the season on its quest for a spot in the ACC Championship and the College Football Playoff? Or will FSU play spoiler? It all kicks off at 7 p.m. at Hard Rock Stadium.
Follow along throughout the game for score updates, thoughts, commentary and analysis. Season recap : Cam Ward threw for 385 yards and three touchdowns, Mark Fletcher added two scores on the ground, the defense held its own despite one of its top players exiting the game early with injury, and the No. 19 Hurricanes made quick work of the Florida Gators with a season-opening win at Gainesville’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to kick off a critical Year 3 under Mario Cristobal.
That one went as expected. Cam Ward threw for three touchdowns and ran for a fourth before turning the game over to the second-string offense midway through the third quarter. The defense held the Rattlers to just three field goals.
The No. 10 Miami Hurricanes had to wait through nearly two-and-a-half hours of lightning delays before kicking off their home game against Ball State on Saturday. Once the game finally began, they wasted little time asserting their dominance, as was expected in this non-conference matchup.
The final score from a soggy Hard Rock Stadium: Hurricanes 62, Ball State 0. It’s the most points Miami has scored in a shutout of a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent in program history. : The Miami Hurricanes and USF Bulls played a hectic, lengthy, back-and-forth first half on Saturday.
But once the teams returned from their locker rooms, the Hurricanes took over and played like the team that has dominated through the first three weeks of the season. Fueled by three total rushing touchdowns by Damien Martinez, including two in the second half, and another stellar performance from quarterback Cam Ward, No. 8 Miami pulled away from USF and left Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium with a 50-15 road win.
: The No. 7 Hurricanes overcame a pair of 10-point second-half deficits to hold off Virginia Tech at Hard Rock Stadium to improve to 5-0 and 1-0 in ACC play. Cam Ward led touchdown drives of 89, 70 and 57 yards in the second half, and Miami survived a final-play Hail Mary attempt from Virgnia Tech that was ultimately ruled incomplete after a lengthy review.
: The No. 8 Hurricanes erased a 25-point second-half deficit for a 39-38 win over the Cal Golden Bears on Saturday in front of a sellout crowd of 52,428 at California Memorial Stadium on the day ESPN’s College GameDay came to Berkeley for the first-time in the show’s history. Miami trailed Cal 35-10 with 8:06 left in the third quarter before it ripped off four consecutive touchdown drives while holding the Golden Bears to just a field goal to secure the win.
The game-winning play: A 5-yard touchdown pass from Cam Ward to Elijah Arroyo on a drive that included a 77-yard catch-and-run from Xavier Restrepo to get Miami into the red zone and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that forced them back 15 yards with less than a minute left to play and a 22-yard catch-and-run from Damien Martinez on third and 20 to get Miami back to the Cal 3. Miami linebacker Francisco Mauigoa intercepted a Fernando Mendoza fourth-down pass with 11 seconds left to seal the game. : The Miami Hurricanes — once again — had to hold their breath and wait to see if a late call would fall in their favor.
Cam Ward was hit as he threw in the fourth quarter Saturday with Miami holding a one-score lead over the Louisville Cardinals. The ball wobbled out of his hand, a Louisville defender charged for it and ran the length of the field for what was initially ruled a game-tying fumble return for a touchdown. After the review was completed, the Hurricanes were able to exhale.
Forward pass. Incomplete pass. Miami maintains possession and the lead.
The sixth-ranked Hurricanes scored two plays later on a Damien Martinez 30-yard rushing touchdown to pull away for a 52-45 win over Louisville on Saturday at L&N Financial Credit Union Stadium to keep their perfect record intact. Pregame Hurricanes reading Need to catch up before kickoff? Here are the highlights of the Miami Herald’s coverage over the past few days. Hurricanes newcomers .
Plus a look at a big recruiting weekend Undefeated Hurricanes as rivalry renews Akheem Mesidor’s ‘flow of emotions,’ OJ Frederique’s confidence and Cam Ward on pace to — and using NIL to take care of teammates Bain as Hurricanes’ defensive line returns to full strength Sam Brown as Hurricanes receivers form ‘four-headed monster’.
