Miami holds on to win
Hurricanes’ King throws three touchdowns in ACC opener
LOUISVILLE, KY » D’Eriq King threw three touchdown passes and No. 17 Miami used big plays to beat No. 18 Louisville 47- 34 on Saturday night in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams.
King threw a 75- yard touchdown pass to Jaylan Knighton in the third quarter, a series after Cam’ron Harris ran 75 yards for a score.
Miami ( 2- 0) led 20- 6 at halftime before Louisville ( 1- 1) scored twice in a wild third to get within seven. The Hurricanes answered both TDs on their next snap against an outofplace defense, with Knighton wide open for his catch that made it 34- 20. Knighton also had a 3- yard TD run in the first half after King threw a 17- yard scoring pass to Will Mallory.
King also hit Brevin Jordan with a 47- yard TD pass in the fourth to finish with 325 yards on 18- of- 30 passing. Jose Borregales added four field goals, including first- half kicks of 48 and 57 yards, with the latter breaking the Cardinal Stadium record for an opponent by 6 yards and the overall mark by 5.
Louisville’s Micale Cunningham passed for 307 yards and three TDs, two to Tutu Atwell, and Javian Hawkins had a 19- yard TD run and finished with 164 yards on 27 carries. But the Cardinals couldn’t stop Miami for much of the game and lost their second in a row to the ’ Canes despite outgaining them 516- 485.
The game was played before a sellout crowd of 12,120.
About 40 protesters seeking the arrest of Louisville police in the death of Breonna Taylor during a March narcotics raid demonstrated briefly outside Cardinal Stadium before the game. A Louisville athletic spokesman said they left after kickoff and there were no arrests.
Already ranked sooner than some expected, Miami figures to move up after an impressive road win. The loss could drop Louisville out of the poll completely.
The Hurricanes scored on four consecutive drives in both halves, demonstrating their offensive dominance.
King showed the passing skills expected of him after transferring from Houston, even with a 74- yard completion wiped out by a holding penalty. The defense struggled at times against the Cardinals’ speedy playmakers but forced two turnovers that forced them to play catchup.
Aiming to atone for last year’s 52- 27 drubbing in south Florida, the Cardinals instead let another early lead slip away fast.
The defense reverted to last season’s tendency to allow big plays and appeared completely flummoxed yielding those TDs that sapped momentum after getting within a touchdown.