After tough start, UM rallies for win
MIAMI GARDENS — After Miami clinched the first Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division crown in program history, upset the then-No. 3 team in the country, claimed one of the top four spots in the College Football Playoff Rankings and after many of the national pundits that doubted the Hurricanes began singing their praises, coach Mark Richt had a question for his players.
“Can you handle any prosperity,” he asked them.
For a while Saturday against Virginia, it didn’t seem so.
UM, which was a force in back-to-back wins over Virginia Tech and Notre Dame, struggled mightily against Virginia early. Cavaliers quarterback Kurt Benkert sliced Miami’s secondary and was nearly perfect in the first half. The Hurricanes’ offense struggled to get anything going consistently and the Cavaliers even blocked a Miami punt.
It was as ugly a start as No. 3 Miami has had in weeks, but as they have so many times this season, the Hurricanes found a way to stay unbeaten, thanks in large part to their defense.
That group put together an impressive second-half effort and on the strength of 30 unanswered second-half points, the Hurricanes managed a 44-28 win over Virginia in Miami’s regular-season home finale.
With the win, the Hurricanes extended their nation-long streak to 15 games without a loss and secured their first 10-win season since 2003.
Now they’ll look to close the regular season out on a high note at Pittsburgh on Friday before turning their attention to Clemson and the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 2.
“You’ve got to have to have poise and confidence, and you have to believe. That’s something this team this year has done that I haven’t really seen that in the past four years,” said offensive lineman KC McDermott, one of 14 seniors honored before playing their final home game at Hard Rock Stadium.
“This team believes in our goal and the way that we’re going to attack it. They believe in the game plan that the coaches put ahead of us, and that’s why we have been so successful. We believe and we go out there every single week and trust what’s going on. We’re honestly having a lot of fun, and I hope you can see that.”
It took a little bit of time for the fun to begin on Saturday.
After back-to-back dominating performances in prime-time games against ranked opponents, the Hurricanes (10-0, 7-0) looked sluggish early, quickly falling behind by two touchdowns.
Miami cut into Virginia’s lead late in the first quarter when Ahmmon Richards — who has been hampered all season by injuries — caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Malik Rosier. It was just Richards’ second score of the year, his first since a 49-yarder against Duke back on Sept. 29.
Dayall Harris, who has been seeing more playing time since his three-game suspension, would tie the game early in the second quarter with his 36-yard scoring catch from Rosier.
That play was set up by an unlikely turn of events, with Miami forcing a turnover on a muffed punt — and Homer recovering the loose ball. The sophomore was welcomed back to the Miami sideline by teammates and coaches who, as expected, placed the Hurricanes’ famed Turnover Chain on him, making Homer the first offensive player to wear the signature piece of jewelry this season.
It was one of three turnovers Miami would force on the day, but Benkert and Virginia (6-5, 3-4) would not go away.
With 30 seconds left in the half, Benkert hit Andre Levrone on a 33-yard scoring pass that capped a sixplay, 81-yard drive and sent the Cavaliers into the locker room with a 21-14 lead.
It marked the first time Miami has trailed at the half since the Hurricanes were down 14-13 against Georgia Tech on Oct. 14. And the start of the third quarter wasn’t much better, with the Hurricanes’ first offensive possession of the second half featuring a sack, a false start and a blocked punt that led to another Virginia score, this time Benkert connecting with Daniel Hamm on a 26-yard scoring play.
Benkert finished 28 of 37 with 384 yards and four touchdowns, putting together one of the best performances of the season against Miami’s defense. But he wasn’t perfect and with 9:57 left in the third quarter, he made one of his rare mistakes. And Jaquan Johnson made him pay.
The safety snatched his team-high fourth interception of the year and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown that tied the game at 28 with 9:57 left in the third.
After that, things turned in the Hurricanes’ favor.
Michael Badgley’s 44-yard field goal with 21 seconds left in the quarter gave Miami its first lead. Rosier’s 8-yard scoring run with 4:30 left in the fourth finally gave the Hurricanes breathing room. And Travis Homer’s 19-yard run with 1:16 left punctuated the afternoon and helped erase some of the offensive frustration from earlier in the day.
Rosier, who has now won all 11 of his games as a starter, finished 15 of 28 for 210 yards and three touchdowns, while Homer had 17 carries for 96 yards. Richards had a team-high four catches for 51 yards.
“We had some special teams issues, we had some defensive issues, we had some offensive issues, but the thing we didn’t have was a heart issue,” Richt said. “Everybody played with all their heart and we didn’t have an issue with belief and team unity when things weren’t looking too great. That’s the thing I probably appreciate the most about this team.”
ccabrera@sun-sentinel.com, Twitter @ChristyChirinos