Celebrating their seniors at Hard Rock Stadium, the No. 15 Miami Hurricanes pummeled the NC State Wolfpack Saturday afternoon, winning 41-7.
Down 3-0 in the first quarter, NC State sophomore quarterback CJ Bailey dropped back and intended to throw the ball to Justin Joly. Instead, Miami safety Jakobe Thomas flew in front of the NC State tight end and ran behind a “wall of orange” to the endzone for a 60-yard touchdown return.
The defensive score set the tone for the game, and Miami continued to put its foot on the neck of the Wolfpack all game.
Miami’s defense dominated all four quarters, holding NC State to 149 total yards on the night with just 29 of those being rushing yards.
UM (8-2, 4-2 ACC) drove down the field on its opening drive, thanks in part to a Keelan Marion 35-yard grab down the left sideline which resulted in a 31-yard field goal by Carter Davis.
Marion had another exceptional performance, leading the team with 96 receiving yards on nine receptions.
On its next offensive possession, NC state senior cornerback Devon Marshall popped the ball out of redshirt sophomore running back Marty Brown’s hands. Wolfpack senior linebacker Caden Fordham came up with the fumble.
That was the only bright spot NC State (5-5, 2-4 ACC) saw all game, from there on it was all ’Canes.
Thomas secured his aforementioned pick-six, and followed it up with his second interception of the night to give Miami the ball back with all the momentum with the orange and gree.
Up 10-0 in the second quarter, Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson opened up the playbook.
On NC State’s 48-yard line, Beck pitched the ball out to freshman wideout Malachi Toney who rolled right and threw a 44-yard bullseye to sophomore wideout Jojo Trader.
A few plays later, Brown ran it in for a one yard score to move the score to 17-0.
With time winding down in the first half, Beck led the offense on a methodical nine play, 66-yard score that was capped off by a 14-yard pass from Beck to Toney in the endzone. Going into halftime, Miami led 24-0.
Toney finished the game with five catches for 54 yards and two touchdowns.
“The best part about this guy [Malachi Toney] is his approach,” Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said. “Everything he wants to do is get better.”
The 24-point lead marked Miami’s largest first-half lead over an ACC opponent this season as the ’Canes have struggled out of the gate against their conference foes this year.
The Hurricanes came back out in the second half carrying their swagger and urgency from the first half.
On NC State’s 29-yard line, Beck hit sophomore Elija Lofton for his first receiving touchdown of the year. Miami firmly took the driver’s seat, going up 31-0.
Despite throwing the ball for 367 yards, it was Miami’s rushing attack, led by true freshman Girard Pringle Jr., that opened everything up for the offense. The Tampa native finished the game with 116 yards on 17 carries.
“It feels great. You know, when I got the chance to execute, I executed,” Pringle said postgame.
The Beck and Toney connection continued in the fourth. With under 12 minutes of regulation left, Beck threw a short pass to Toney, who ran it into the endzone for a 15-yard score and moved it to 41-0.
Beck threw for an efficient 291 yards on 21-for-27 passing with three touchdowns.
“We’ve been really good and we really, kind of found our rhythm, again, in passing, the run game. Just complementary football on offense which is so important,” Beck said.
As the clock ticked down, UM waved goodbye not only to the Wolfpack but the fans who showed up on Saturday night and all season long. 510,613 fans cheered on the ’Canes this season, a program record.
“It’s all about one game. It’s always worked best for us,” Cristobal said. “We really appreciate the support because these fans made a big difference.”
Every win from here on out is a statement and the motto of “1-0” needs to continue next Saturday at Virginia Tech.
The game will be played at Lane Stadium on Nov. 22 and the game time is to be announced.