On Saturday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium, the Miami Hurricanes took down the Syracuse Orange 38-10 in a dominant second half showing.
After losing 26-20 in overtime to SMU a week ago, the Hurricanes needed a bounce back, and they got just that against the Orange. The offense totaled 385 yards while the defense stifled anything Syracuse tried to do.
With losses from No. 14 Virginia and No. 15 Louisville on Saturday, the Hurricanes hopes to make the College Football Playoffs have grown. But, the ‘Canes need to still play their best brand of football for the last three games of the regular season.
Keionte Scott is Miami’s best defensive player this season
After the Hurricanes were off to a slow start in the first quarter, they were able to pick up the momentum following a trick play touchdown from Miami quarterback Carson Beck, who threw the ball to Malachi Toney, who threw it back to Beck and ran it in for a 14-yard score.
Despite this play being the first score of the game, the real show started with the defense, a pattern consistent throughout this game and this season as a whole.
With less than two minutes left in the second quarter, sixth-year redshirt senior defensive back Keionte Scott was able to secure a 38-yard interception return for a touchdown, sending a wave of electricity throughout Hard Rock Stadium.
Scott has been working hard all season, leading the team in solo tackles with 28, and placing second in passes deflected with four.
With two sacks this season, including one tonight, the Auburn transfer has showed he can be a real threat on all facets of the defense for Miami, transforming into the team’s best defensive player.
Miami harnessed the game with explosive plays
On the defensive side, Scott’s 38 yard pick-six was one of many notable plays from Saturday’s matinee.
In the ensuing drive, the Orange was threatening to score in the last seconds of the first half. On first down, sixth-year redshirt senior defensive end Akheem Mesidor forced a fumble on Syracuse’s Yasin Willis, which was recovered by Jakobe Thomas.
Following his fumble recovery, Thomas continued to make his presence felt. On Syracuse’s last drive of the third quarter, Thomas sacked Rickie Collins, putting an even bigger halt on the little momentum that Syracuse had.
On the next play, Collins threw to Darius Johnson, who tipped the ball up in the air and landed in the hands of Thomas. Thomas himself thought the ball was incomplete, until he was told by Mohamed Toure to run.
His interception was the last of Miami’s three forced turnovers on the Orange offense. The defense finished the game with seven sacks, 11 tackles for loss, and four pass breakups.
On the offensive side, Miami was able to show its talent despite a slow first quarter. After putting up just 20 points in Dallas last week, Beck and the Miami attack was able to move the ball at-will in the second half against a struggling Syracuse defense.
Miami’s creativity, which was lacking last week, came right away on the trick play from Beck and Toney.
That five play, 90 yard drive was set up by the explosiveness of true freshman wideout Daylyn Upshaw. On second down at their own 33-yard line, Beck hit Upshaw for a 41-yard catch and run to truly get the Hurricane offense up and running.
The offensive explosiveness continued to showcase in the third quarter, when Beck hit Keelan Marion for a 61-yard touchdown. Marion’s touchdown jumpstarted some of the most authentic football Miami has played in a while.
The ‘Canes relied heavily on Toney, the team’s best offensive player, in the third quarter, but another true freshman was able to make real advances.
With 2:25 left in the third quarter, running back Girard Pringle Jr. scored a 19-yard rushing touchdown to extend Miami’s lead to 25.
The final stand-out explosive play was made by 335-pound offensive lineman Francis “Sisi” Mauigoa, scoring a 3-yard rushing touchdown after a backwards throw from Beck, putting the score at 38-3.
Mauigoa revealed after the game that the team had been practicing this play for over three years, and head coach Mario Cristobal promised him he would be able to run it in a game during his time at Miami. Today was finally the day.
Miami followed its middle eight mantra
After the game, Cristobal reiterated the importance of the “middle eight mantra” for the Hurricanes. The “middle eight” is known as the final four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the third quarter.
With the touchdown by Beck and the interception by Thomas happening in the last four minutes of the second quarter, both the offense and defense proved how important it was to spark momentum to close out the half.
Similarly, on the other side of the middle eight, Marion’s 61-yard touchdown from Beck connected just within the first four minute mark of the second half. Those eight minutes ultimately defined Miami’s win on Saturday, as it broke the game open and set the tone for the rest of the game.
Cristobal utilized the idea of harnessing the middle eight in the massive win against Notre Dame in the first game of the season, with a score of 27-24.
If Miami continues to dominate the middle eight, they should be able to close out the final three games of the season strong.
Carson Beck is just having fun, despite his recent struggles
While Beck’s gameplay was better than it was in the loss against SMU, the win against Syracuse did not come without a few hiccups from him.
In the first quarter, he nearly threw an interception on the first drive of the game and then couldn’t get out of his own way, throwing an interception in the last three minutes that was called back for a defensive holding. Beck was also sacked twice, finishing the game with -10 rushing yards.
After a pretty clean second quarter from Beck, he made another error during the end of third quarter, almost throwing an interception with five seconds left.
Despite these few hiccups, Beck played a significantly better game and ultimately looked like he was having fun out there. He finished the game completing 18-of-24 passes for 247 yards and two total touchdowns and no turnovers.
From his trick play with Toney, to his rocket to Marion, and wrapping up with a big boy backwards touchdown pass to Sisi, Beck displayed his playful spirit out on the field.
“I thought we played loose,” Beck said. “I thought we had fun, and I think that’s the biggest thing for us right now.”
Following Saturday’s win, the Hurricanes will take on NC State next weekend as their last home game of the season. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. and will air on ESPN.
