With two minutes left in the fourth quarter, the fourth-ranked Miami Hurricanes (9-1, 5-1 ACC) were searching for their fourth double digit comeback victory of the season against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (6-4, 4-3 ACC).
Down five, Miami quarterback Cam Ward was sacked and lost the football while trying to make a play. That turnover led the fans at Bobby Dodd Stadium to storm the field, as the Yellow Jackets upset the Hurricanes 28-23 on Saturday afternoon.
“They played better and coached better than we did,” Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said to WQAM radio.
Miami had a chance for one last effort following the fumble. On third down, Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King flipped the ball to Eric Singleton Jr., who picked up the first down and slid in bounds to keep the clock running. King took a knee, ending the game.
Georgia Tech won this afternoon because of a dominant rushing attack against the Miami defense. The Yellow Jackets controlled over 34 minutes of game clock, running the ball 48 times for 271 yards and two touchdowns.
“They did what they do,” Cristobal said to reporters about the Yellow Jackets’ run game. “It falls on all of us, the way they ran the football.”
At the beginning of the second quarter, King hit a wide open Malik Rutherford for a five-yard touchdown. That score capped off a 17-play, 74-yard drive that lasted nearly 11 minutes. In that drive, GT ran the ball 14 of 17 times, a trend that continued for the rest of the game.
The Yellow Jackets cycled between both King and true freshman quarterback Aaron Philo. King did most of the running while Philo came in to throw, although that was rare.
King finished the day completing all six of his throws for 32 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, King ran 20 times for 93 yards and a touchdown.
The ’Canes looked off offensively on Saturday, something that has not been the case for the best offense in college football. UM converted 30% of their third downs and 25% on fourth downs. Entering this game, UM was the best on third downs and ninth in the country on fourth downs.
On a fourth and long, Ward needed 16 yards to extend the drive and put a dent in their 12-point deficit. After trying to extend the play, Ward was sacked as Miami failed to convert on fourth down for the third consecutive time.
Ward finished the day completing 25 of his 39 throws for 348 yards and three touchdowns and one fumble. The fifth-year senior passed Steve Walsh for most touchdowns in a single season by a Miami quarterback, with 30.
“I just think we didn’t play our best ball,” Ward told reporters after the game. “At the end of the day, we’re the best offense in the country, and we put up 23 points.”
Down 12, the Hurricanes needed a score to have a chance at completing another comeback. On first down, Ward found a wide open Xavier Restrepo for a 38 yard score, bringing the deficit to five.
At the beginning of the game, Ward hit Restrepo for a 21-yard gain. That catch broke Mike Harley’s record for most receptions ever by a Miami player, with 183. Restrepo finished the day with four catches for 78 yards and one touchdown.
UM has played the “Cardiac `Canes” mantra all season long, leading them to a 9-0 start to the season for the first time since 2017. There were obvious concerns that UM had yet to fix, relying on Ward and the offense to be flawless because of the porous defense.
It took a 25-point comeback to take down California in Berkeley, an overturned hail mary against Virginia Tech to escape defeat, a heroic performance from Ward against Louisville and outscoring Duke 36-3 for this Miami team to stay undefeated.
For the second time in the Cristobal era, Georgia Tech beat an unbeaten Miami team. The 2023 ’Canes lost to the Yellow Jackets in improbable fashion, sending them into a spiral of losing five of their next six.
The 2024 ’Canes hope this loss doesn’t show parallels to 2023 or even 2017, where Miami lost three in a row after starting the season 10-0.
UM still controls its own destiny to make the College Football Playoff. The Hurricanes will make the ACC championship game if they win their next two against Wake Forest and Syracuse. A win in the ACC championship game would clinch a playoff berth for the ’Canes.
The Hurricanes will be able to regroup next week after the loss with a bye. UM’s next game will be on Nov. 23 against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Hard Rock Stadium.