Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
’Canes end skid vs. Power 5 programs
MIAMI GARDENS — When asked about N.C. State’s dominant defense earlier in the week, Miami Hurricanes quarterback Tyler Van Dyke told reporters, “I don’t think they can really stop us.”
While the Wolfpack provided Miami with plenty of resistance on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium, Van Dyke backed up his comments with the best offensive performance of his young career en route to ending UM’s losing streak against Power Five programs.
The second-year freshman quarterback went 25 of 33 for a career-high 325 passing yards and four touchdowns in UM’s 31-30 win over N.C. State (5-2, 2-1 ACC) to give the reeling Hurricanes their first conference win and first victory over an FBS program since their win over Appalachian State on Sept. 11.
Miami (3-4, 1-2 ACC) entered Saturday losing its last six games to Power Five programs dating back to last season.
“Tyler’s comments during the week could’ve gone one of two directions,” UM coach Manny Diaz said. “I know for a fact it fired up N.C. State’s defense. We kind of took that midweek with our team and figured ‘it’s going to rile up N.C. State’s guys, let’s let it rile up our guys.’
“Really since we’ve lost [quarterback] D’Eriq [King], we’ve been waiting for someone to make a play. We were lacking our leader. We doubled down on what [Van Dyke] said. We followed what he said…We needed someone to rally around. I thought that’s what Tyler did [Saturday].”
UM became the first team to score 30 or more points against the Wolfpack, who entered Saturday sixth nationally in scoring defense at 14.3.
The Hurricanes didn’t need a comeback attempt that lasted the entire second half or wait until the second quarter to score their first offensive touchdown against the Wolfpack like they had in their previous three games against FBS opponents (Virginia, North Carolina and Michigan State).
Instead, UM came out of the gates with the offensive execution that it’s only shown late in games over the last couple of weeks.
Van Dyke went 5 of 8 for 65 yards in the air on the Hurricanes’ first drive that ended with the quarterback connecting with wide receiver Charleston Rambo on a 25-yard touchdown pass early in the first quarter to give the Hurricanes a 7-0 advantage, their first lead over an FBS opponent since the fourth quarter of their loss to Michigan State on Sept. 18.
Miami maintained the offensive production for the entire game against the Wolfpack, averaging 5.9 yards per play and scoring at least one offensive touchdown in all four quarters, which the Hurricanes hadn’t done all season against an FBS opponent until Saturday.
“I thought it looked a lot better [Saturday] because we were confident from the start,” Diaz said. “We’re becoming a purer version of the team we’re climbing up to being.”
Running back Jaylan Knighton, who started in place of the injured Cam’Ron Harris, had 163 yards from scrimmage (83 receiving and 83 rushing) including a 53-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter that gave the Hurricanes a 14-3 lead with 13:41 left in the second quarter.
Miami trailed the Wolkpack, 17-14, at halftime after allowing two touchdowns in the final nine minutes of the first half, including an N.C. State quarterback Devin Leary 27-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Thayer Thomas with 15 seconds left in the second quarter to reduce the Wolfpack’s deficit to three at the game’s midway point.
After Van Dyke connected with Rambo on a 60-yard pass on Miami’s first play of the third quarter, tight end Will Mallory caught his first touchdown of the year later that drive to give the Hurricanes a 21-17 lead with 13:24 left in the quarter.
Rambo finished with 9 receptions for 127 yards and two touchdowns, with his second score in the fourth quarter giving the Hurricanes a 31-27 lead with 9:34 left in the game.
Wolfpack kicker Christopher Dunn made a 40-yard field goal with 5:39 left in the game to reduce Miami’s lead to 31-30.
They held the Hurricanes into a three-and-out on the ensuing drive to get the ball back at their own 44 with 3:46 left in the game, but UM forced N.C. State to turn the ball over on downs when true freshman safety Kam Kinchens tackled Thomas 2 yards short of the first down on fourth-and-8 with 2:49 left in the game.
Miami came up with a crucial third-down conversion when Van Dyke connected with Mallory for a 21-yard pass on third-and-16 with over two minutes left to help secure the eventual Miami win.
“This team is mentally tough,” Diaz said. “This team is resilient. We’ve shown it again and again — it’s baked into our DNA at this point. The fight is special. You’re just so happy for them they finally get the reward they deserved.”
The Hurricanes’ win came a day after Univerisity of Miami athletic director Blake James didn’t guarantee Diaz’s job is safe for the remainder of the season in light of the team’s disappointing start when speaking to select media outlets, including the Miami Herald and ESPN.
While Diaz mostly steered clear of directly expounding upon James’ comments and assured he and James “have” and “have had a good relationship”, multiple Miami players defended Diaz after Saturday’s game in light of UM fans expressing their dissatisfaction with the program under Diaz in recent months.
“Coach Diaz is our guy,” Knighton said. “We give him our all every day andhegivesushisalleveryday.Ilove him. We don’t really talk too much about what the media says about coach Diaz, but we know we got his back and that’s all the matters.”
The Hurricanes will play Pittsburgh (6-1, 3-0 ACC) next Saturday at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.