Hurricanes Beat Cardinal (The Color) After Falling To Cardinals (The Bird) Last Week
Miami football struggled out of the gates against Stanford Saturday night, but the Hurricanes did enough to get back in the win column by beating the Cardinal, 42-7.
The ‘Canes entered the game off their first loss of the season, a 24-21 defeat at the hands of an unranked Louisville team last week. The defeat did more than put the first blemish on Miami’s record; it also gave the haters their first real ammunition of the year. Carson Beck’s four interceptions took him from a Heisman favorite to an afterthought, and the rushing game accounted for a measly 2.6 yards per carry. The offense seemed to have lost everything it had found the first five games of the season, and it looked early like Saturday’s matchup with Stanford would bring more of the same.
Miami’s offense went scoreless for the first 13 minutes of the game against Stanford, and the Cardinal’s 12-play, 74-yard touchdown drive on its opening possession quickly quieted the Hard Rock fans. The Hurricanes’ first drive went five minutes and 50 yards but ended in a missed field goal. Another five-minute drive in the 2nd quarter ended with a turnover on downs at the Stanford 30-yard-line. Miami just couldn’t finish drives, but Stanford only scored that one touchdown while the ‘Canes stumbled. Miami didn’t have a big comeback to make once the offense found its footing.
The turnaround started on the last drive of the half for Miami. The Hurricanes took over with 8:30 to play in the 2nd and went 71 yards on 15 plays, capped off by a 5-yard CJ Daniels touchdown reception. Stanford couldn’t score in the minute left in the half, and UM went into the locker rooms even at 7-7 after a sloppy first 30 minutes. After the break, the Miami defense and special teams helped the offense find its groove.
After a quick failed series from Stanford to start the 2nd half, Malachi Toney returned a punt 31 yards to start the offense in Cardinal territory. Miami scored on six plays to take its first lead of the day. Toney returned the next Stanford punt 41 yards to start the ‘Canes at the Cardinal 30, but Stanford stonewalled Mark Fletcher Jr. on a 4th-and-1 run to keep Miami scoreless on that chance. The next two Stanford drives ended in interceptions, the first setting the offense up with a 1st-and-Goal from the 3-yard-line which Fletcher Jr. punched In on one play. The second pick put Miami in Stanford territory again, and Mark Fletcher Jr. went 45 yards on four consecutive run plays to open up a 28-7 lead.
That’s a lot of numbers, so here are the biggest takeaways: Miami outscored Stanford 21-0 in the 3rd quarter but didn’t have to go more than 50 yards on any of the three touchdown drives. The 21 points came on 97 yards of total offense. Not exactly the breakthrough the scoreboard would have you believe.
Miami did put together another long scoring drive in the 4th quarter, going 76 yards on eight plays to take a 35-7 advantage, and the backups added another score in the final minute. Mark Fletcher Jr. finished with three touchdowns on the ground and 106 rushing yards and Carson Beck added a score through the air with 189 passing yards. The defense starred in this one, though, allowing just 129 yards of Stanford offense and forcing the two key turnovers which jumpstarted UM.
Miami (6-1, 2-1 ACC) now hits the road to face off against SMU (5-3, 3-1 ACC) next weekend. The Mustangs took their first conference loss to Wake Forest this weekend.
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