South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Winning effort
Hurricanes snap losing streak with success on road
BLACKSBURG, Va. — For the first time in more than a month, the Hurricanes can add to their number in the win column.
After losing three straight games Miami picked up a muchneeded 20-14 win over Virginia Tech at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia, on Saturday. The Hokies put up a late fight after trailing 20-0, but Miami left Blacksburg with a .500 record.
“It’s been a long past three weeks,” defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor said. “But it’s hard to win, and when you do win it’s important to celebrate with your team.”
Despite a reported sellout crowd of more than 65,000 Hokies fans, the Hurricanes got off to the type of quick start that has eluded them for most of the season.
Although Virginia Tech quarterback Grant Wells connected with Dae’Quan Wright for a 27-yard pass into UM territory, cornerback DJ Ivey forced a fumble that safety Avantae Williams recovered, giving Miami the ball.
The Hurricanes (3-3, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) took advantage of that turnover, driving down the field. Sophomore wide receiver Colbie Young, a transfer from Lackawanna College who received limited playing time early in the season, made the first of two one-handed catches, setting up a 5-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Van Dyke to Frank Ladson Jr.
Van Dyke tossed his second touchdown of the day to Young with 5 minutes, 28 seconds left in the second quarter as the
6-foot-5 receiver made his second one-handed grab.
“What a day — he made some unbelievable catches,” Van Dyke said. “He’s going to continue to step up for us.”
Van Dyke continued his hot streak from last week, completing
29 of 46 passes for 351 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
“Tyler was very, very comfortable,” coach Mario Cristobal said. “What he practiced showed up in the game, which allowed him to perform at a high level, especially in that first half. He was hard to stop.”
While the Hurricanes offense was moving down the field, the defense limited the Hokies.
Virginia Tech (2-5, 1-3) entered Saturday’s game with the No. 115 offense in the nation, and Miami didn’t allow it to improve those numbers much. The Hurricanes held the Hokies to just 106 firsthalf yards.
“I think we just did a good job preparing this week, all week,” linebacker Keontra Smith said. “Our D-line did a good job closing in the pocket on that quarterback. We just played good all around.”
The defense kept the Hokies in check for much of the second half as well, but Virginia Tech got on the board early in the fourth quarter on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Grant Wells to Malachi Thomas.
Miami’s offense did not move the ball as well as it did in the first half, scoring only three points on a field goal by Andy Borregales. The Hurricanes ended the game with 458 offensive yards.
The Hurricanes’ offensive struggles in the second half and several penalties at crucial moments allowed the Hokies to stay in the game. Virginia Tech took advantage of UM’s miscues and cut Miami’s lead to six points on a short touchdown run by Wells.
“They got a little momentum going,” Mesidor said. “They decided to make it a little more interesting in the fourth quarter, but we did a good job stopping them and our offense did a good job running the clock and enabling us to win this game.”
The Hurricanes offense picked up crucial first downs to secure the win. Van Dyke sealed the game with a 9-yard run for a first down, and Miami picked up its first win against an ACC opponent.
“Tremendous credit to the players for fighting hard and doing what they did to find a way to win a football game on the road, in conference,” Cristobal said.
5 takeaways
1. Colbie Young could become a major producer: Young arrived in Coral Gables late in the offseason from Lackawanna College, and he did not see the field much in Miami’s first five games. Injuries to other wide receivers pushed him closer to the top of the depth chart.
“What can you say about the guy?” Cristobal said. “The guy got dropped off here — might as well have [flown] by in a helicopter and jumped out right before camp and start training and getting ready to play football.
“He did that. He just goes. That guy just goes.”
The 6-5 receiver showed why he could be such a potent weapon for the Hurricanes, leading Miami with 110 receiving yards, which included the two one-handed catches and one touchdown.
2. Quick start does prove crucial:
Miami has struggled early in games for much of this season. In their three losses leading up to Saturday, the Hurricanes’ opponents outscored them 55-30 in the first half.
The Hurricanes reversed those fortunes Saturday, scoring on their first drive and taking a 17-0 lead into halftime in their win.
“Momentum drives a lot,” Cristobal said. “And that momentum built up early. For us, it was awesome.”
3. Running game still has struggles: Miami’s passing game performed well Saturday, but UM still could not find many answers in the running game. The Hurricanes ended their win with 107 rushing yards.
With Henry Parrish Jr. out with an injury, Jaylan Knighton led the team with 27 yards, Thad Franklin Jr. had 23 and Lucious Stanley also had 23.
Miami also inserted speedy freshman quarterback Jacurri Brown in to run the ball three times, and Brown rushed for 22 yards.
Cristobal said he did see improvement in the running game, especially in short-yardage situations.
“We did have some moments in the run game, and now they’re squeezing out. Now they’re playing man,” Cristobal said. “At the end of the day, they forced Tyler to keep the ball.
4. Defense comes out firing:
Virginia Tech doesn’t have the most prolific offense in the country, but Miami did its job on defense, holding the Hokies to just 14 points Saturday.
The Hurricanes forced punts on eight of Virginia Tech’s 12 drives and held the Hokies to 257 offensive yards, including just 78 rushing yards.
Miami frequently got into the Virginia Tech backfield, notching six sacks. Defensive end Akheem Mesidor, who has been arguably Miami’s top defensive player this season, had 3 ½ sacks — a career high for the first-year Hurricane. He has five sacks so far this season.
“In practice, we just harp on affecting the quarterback so heavy,” Mesidor said. “We ran a few games that we knew would work, but it all came down to preparation in practice.
“I think we prepared properly, I prepared properly, and then as a whole defense we just dominated.”
5. Penalty issues crop up: The Hurricanes entered Saturday’s game as one of the nation’s least-penalized teams, averaging
5.4 penalties per game (38th in the nation). That trend changed Saturday.
Referees flagged Miami for 17 penalties that totaled 159 yards in its win.
Several of the Hurricanes’ penalties hampered offensive drives. In the second half a false start on fourth-and-2 changed the UM coaches’ minds, as they elected to punt after they originally planned to go for it at the Hokies’ 40-yard line.
“We entered the least-penalized team in the conference, but we walked away with a ton of penalties today,” Cristobal said. “Some of it was just handling the environment.”