South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Poor stretch of play continues for UM
Top-ranked Alabama overwhelms Miami early, opens season with rout
ATLANTA — The Miami Hurricanes entered the weekend with a recent poor stretch of play when matching against the top-ranked team in the nation — and that continued on Saturday, further displaying a significant amount of distance remains between UM and the country’s elite programs.
Behind a strong performance from Bryce Young, who was marking his first start at the collegiate level, No. 1 Alabama demolished No. 14 Miami 44-13 on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game.
The Hurricanes have now lost their last three meetings against the team that was at the top of the AP Poll at the time: Saturday vs. Alabama, 2020 Week 6 against Clemson and the 2017 ACC Championship Game against Clemson.
UM (0-1) lost those three games by a combined score of 124-33.
The last time the Hurricanes beat a top-ranked team came on Oct. 7, 2000 when they beat Florida State in the “Wide Right III” game. UM has lost seven of its last eight games against the No. 1 team in the nation and are 9-10 when playing the country’s top-ranked program.
The Crimson Tide (1-0) extended their winning streak in games they play in Atlanta to 15.
Young, who replaced Mac Jones as Alabama’s starting quarterback after Jones moved on to the NFL, went 27 of 38 for 344 yards and four touchdowns and no interceptions.
Nine different Crimson Tide receivers caught passes from Young, who was subbed out of the game midway through the fourth quarter when Alabama led 44-13. The Crimson Tide also ran for 146 yards on 36 attempts.
UM quarterback D’Eriq King went 23 of 30 for 179 yards one touchdown and two interceptions and was sacked four times.
It marked the third time in 12 games that the 24-year-old signal-caller has thrown multiple interceptions in a game with Miami and just the fifth time during his six-year career, with King throwing two or more interceptions only twice across 34 games with Houston.
Backup quarterback Tyler Van Dyke subbed in for King with a little over five minutes left in the game.
The Hurricanes rushed for only 69 yards on 30 attempts, led by Cam’Ron Harris (37 yards on 12 attempts).
It was announced before the game that backup running back Jaylan Knighton was going to be suspended for the first four games of the season, with reserve tight end Larry Hodges (two games) and safety Avantae Williams (six games) also serving suspensions to start the season.
The Hurricanes were lucky to be trailing only by 10 points and 27-3 at halftime after after Alabama dominated each facet of the game early and often.
The Crimson Tide outgained Miami 497-248, and the Hurricanes averaged 4.3 yards per play compared to Alabama’s 6.6.
Freshman kicker Andres Borregales scored Miami’s first points with a 37-yard field goal right before halftime to reduce the Hurricanes’ deficit to 24.
After Alabama went up 41-3 midway through the third quarter, King led a sevenplay, 75-yard drive that ended with the quarterback connecting with wide receiver Xavier Restrepo for a 29-yard touchdown.
Borregales kicked a 28-yard field goal toward the end of the third quarter to reduce Miami’s deficit to 41-13, but never threatened Alabama.
The Hurricanes will look to bounce back from their season-opening loss next weekend with their home opener versus Appalachian State on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium.