No. 18 Miami Opens the Offense and Squeezes the Orange Out, Blowing out Syracuse
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MIAMI GARDENS — Tensions were already high in this all-important game for No. 18 Miami (7-2, 3-2 ACC). If the Hurricanes win out, they only have a four percent chance of making the ACC Championship game and an eight percent chance of making the College Football Playoff. The message is simple: win.
They get the job done with the first game against the Fran Brown lead Syracuse Orange, blowing them out 38-10.
This was a potential statement game for the Hurricanes; however, it didn’t start pretty. While the team scored 38 points, the first half was a dread for the over 60,000 announced fans in Hard Rock Stadium. The offense's starting four drives ended in four punts. Carson Beck nearly had an interception that almost shocked him the whole half.
However, it did not faze this team. They are built for something more, and know if they want to reach that next level, even with the slimmest of chances of making it, they have to play better. That they did.
"Proud of the way out guys showed up on Monday with the right attitude with the right type of energy," Cristobal said post game. "Put together a good week of work at practice and even though we offensively we were off to a slow start, the defense was really playing big and when we got it going we got it going."
Beck, after a near interception in the first quarter, was scared to run the ball and started to fold, then hit his first big play. Across the middle, he found senior receiver Keelan Marion, and it was bombs away from there.
Marion had a career day with 116 yards on three catches and a touchdown. Not only was he great, but Miami's freshmen played great as well.
The score was 0-0, then the freshmen trio of Malachi Toney, Daylyn Upshaw, and Josh Moore started to make plays for the Canes. They were the best group of receivers for the Canes all night, and Toney continued his dominant freshman campaign.
Not only is he the best wide receiver the Hurricanes have, but he might be the best quarterback as well. Offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson found some plays in the sticky playbook that allowed his star player to get the ball more and dictate the game.
He was in a wildcat formation that went for 10 yards, and he even threw a touchdown to Beck to continue to extend the lead. Toney only finished with 26 total yards, but all were effective.
In the second half, the Hurricanes' offense started to open and the entire team started to flourish.
"You know, I think after some moments of 'Eh', We finally just cut it loose," Cristobal said. "I think it's that simple. I thinkg we called it more freely, I think we played more freely, and I think cut it loose. We stopped working about the outcome and started to worry about the process and we had a chance make it a really really big lead. I should have extended it more."
It was also a defensive masterclass from Corey Hetherman's group. They forced three turnovers and only allowed the Orange past the 50-yard line three times in 60 minutes. It was also another great night for the Jim Thorpe semifinals, Keionte Scott, who picked up the Hurricanes' first pick-6 since last season's game against Duke. He is playing at nearly a first-round pick level and has elevated the way that the Hurricanes have been playing in the secondary as well.
"We came in late," defensive back Jakobe Thomas said about Scott and himself. "The way they integrated us into the system and they push us every single day, the very minute details we it comes down to it. The late night meeting that we have, or sometimes he will call me late at night and ask me what I see here, it's amazing to see my best friend go and do the things I knew he would do. It's amazing to watch. I love seeing it.
Now with the Fran Brown monkey off of Cristobal’s back, he will lead this team against a face that could be in the orange and green next season. The NC State Wolfpack is coming into town for the final home game of the season for the Canes, and it will be a Homecoming for quarterback CJ Bailey, who Cristobal, Dawson, and the entire fanbase will have their undivided attention on, too.
Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University and is the site lead for the Miami Hurricanes on SI. He can be reached at Twitter @Justice_News5.
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.