No. 8 Miami heads to the West Coast for late night ACC clash against Cal

Senior quarterback Cam Ward and fifth-year senior Xavier Restrepo celebrate Ward's rushing touchdown at Hard Rock Stadium against the Virginia Tech Hokies on Sept. 28, 2024. // Photo credit via Emily Rice

Still reeling off a wild finish on Friday at Hard Rock Stadium against the Virginia Tech Hokies, the eighth ranked Miami Hurricanes (5-0, 1-0 ACC) travel across the country to face the California Golden Bears (3-1, 0-1 ACC).

Cal is coming off a bye week, but suffered their first loss of the season just a week prior to the 1-3 Florida State Seminoles. Against the Seminoles, the Golden Bears tallied 410 yards but were held to just nine points in the loss. The Golden Bears are led by Miami native and Columbus high school alum Fernando Mendoza. The redshirt sophomore quarterback has thrown for 892 yards and five touchdowns, while throwing two interceptions at a 67 percent completion percentage.

The defense has been a strong point for UC Berkeley this season, playing an important role in their strong start to the season. The Golden Bears allow 12.8 points, good enough for 12th in the nation. One of those contributors for California is UNLV transfer defensive back Nohl Williams. The fifth year senior from Oxford, California has been among the best defensive players in the ACC, leading the conference in interceptions with four.

Miami will need Washington State transfer quarterback Cam Ward to play at a high level in order for UM to secure this victory this weekend. Despite coming up big on several occasions against Virginia Tech, Ward struggled at times, committing three turnovers in the process. So far this season, Ward is still playing at the level of a Heisman quarterback. In five games this season, the fifth-year senior has completed 70.2 percent of his throws for 1782 yards while tallying 20 total touchdowns to four interceptions.

The Hurricanes are also looking forward to getting a key defensive reinforcement back this weekend.

Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said on The Joe Rose Show Tuesday that sophomore defensive end Reuben Bain Jr is available for Saturday’s game. Cristobal is excited for what the 2023 ACC Rookie of the Year can provide for the defense.

“We know what kind of player he is,” Cristobal told reporters. “We’re excited and I know he’s excited.”

Cristobal also said that starting left tackle Jalen Rivers will be a game-time decision for the California game.

Against Virginia Tech, the `Canes made too many mistakes that nearly came back to haunt them by the end of the game. 

In order to avoid an upset this week, the Hurricanes will need better performances from all around. On Friday, the UM offense committed two turnovers in the red zone and the defense allowed Virginia Tech to run for 206 yards and two touchdowns.

Cristobal admitted on Tuesday that the team needs to do a better job of fixing things to continue their winning ways.

“The effort was really really good but the details were lacking, ” Cristobal said to reporters. “We as an entire organization and program have to do a better job making sure that we tighten things up to perform at a higher level.”

This will be the fifth meeting all-time between the two programs, with the most recent matchup being in 2008. The last time these two schools met, Cal won 24-17. Both teams have won two games a piece in the all-time series.

The Golden Bears host the `Canes in their ACC home opener, which will also be the site for ESPN’s College Gameday. Cal’s appearance on College Gameday will be the first in the program’s history.

Kickoff at the California Memorial Field in Berkeley, California is set for 10:30 p.m. EST and will air on ESPN.