Disaster averted. Miami survives three first-half fumbles to beat GT, keep ACC hopes alive
The University of Miami, in spite of itself, has entered the winning zone.
Despite three fumbles, a missed field goal, two unsuccessful fourth-and-1 attempts and a two-point conversion attempt returned 100 yards by the opponent, Miami defeated Georgia Tech 33-30 Saturday.
The Hurricanes (5-4, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) have a winning record for the first time in 2021 after their third consecutive victory, witnessed by 48,161 likely worn-out fans at Hard Rock Stadium.
“What I was really proud of was our guys... came back and they made big plays, crucial plays for us to win,’’ UM coach Manny Diaz said. “In this league normally the games are tight. You gotta be able to hold your nerves. You’ve gotta find a way to see it through no matter what the situation is, and our guys certainly can do that.’’
With 10:27 left, UM scored on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Van Dyke to Key’Shawn Smith to culminate a five-play, 51-yard drive and make it 33-28. But when the Canes attempted the two-point conversion to give themselves a seven-point cushion, Juanyeh Thomas intercepted the ball and ran it back 100 yards to give, instead, the two points to Georgia Tech and make it 33-30.
What was going through Diaz’s mind during the play?
“Well, a lot of things that I can’t say out loud,’’ the coach said. “I will say this: It ended up all going for naught, but the effort of Jakai Clark, Zion Nelson, even TVD, laying out [to try to tackle Thomas]... From what we’ve seen the last couple games, every friggin’ point matters. You saw some care.
“Once that guy broke past the 50, guys could have said, ‘To heck with it, I’m not going to chase him down.’ There were a lot of tired, gassed dudes laying in that end zone after the play.”
The Hurricanes did whatever they could to prevent themselves from taking a collective breath, failing on fourth-and-1 with 6:18 left and third-and-1 with 59 seconds left. The Yellow Jackets had one last chance in the final minute, but UM forced a turnover on downs.
Van Dyke/Rambo
The Canes, led by the offensive trio of quarterback Van Dyke, receiver Charleston Rambo and running back Jaylan Knighton, keep their hopes alive for a Coastal Division crown and berth in the ACC title game.
Van Dyke completed 22 of 34 passes for 389 yards and three touchdowns. Rambo had seven catches for 210 yards and a touchdown, the second most single-game receiving yards in UM history. And Knighton had a career-high 162 yards and a touchdown.
UM must win at least one of its three remaining regular-season games to qualify for a bowl. It must win at least two more to guarantee a winning season. An obvious place to start would be next Saturday in Tallahassee, where the Hurricanes will meet archrival but ailing Florida State (3-6 and 2-4 after a 28-14 loss Saturday to North Carolina State) at 3:30 p.m. (ESPN).
“I know it’s a big deal here,’’ Van Dyke said of FSU. ’’It’s the reason why I came here, too. There’s a lot of history behind the game. We’re going to have to prepare well for it.’’
Georgia Tech fell to 3-6 and 2-5.
“We play this game for wins,’’ said Canes defensive tackle Nesta Silvera. “That’s just the bottom line. We’re playing football, man, it’s always fun,’’ he added, when asked if the constant down-to-the-wire games are getting tiring. “It’s a big game if the Hurricanes are in town.’’
Down at halftime
Down 21-17 at halftime, UM opened the second half with a quick, four-play drive that began with a 60-yard completion from Van Dyke to Rambo and ended with a 2-yard touchdown plunge by Knighton. UM regained the lead at 24-21.
The Yellow Jackets answered with a 50-yard touchdown on a screen pass from Jeff Sims to tailback Jahmyr Gibbs and the Yellow Jackets were up 28-24 with 10:33 left in the third quarter.
A 31-yard field goal by freshman kicker Andy Borregales cut UM’s deficit to one point — 28-27 within the first minute of the final quarter.
Miami jumped out to its 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter on Van Dyke touchdown passes to Mike Harley and Rambo. The first touchdown culminated an 11-play, 93-yard drive that took 3:39 and included passes of 12 (to Key’Shawn Smith), 20 (Jacolby George) and 19 yards (Romello Brinson) before Harley, closely defended by Yellow Jacket Wesley Walker, made his one-handed grab in the rear left corner of the end zone.
The second UM touchdown drive took four plays over 58 seconds and began with a 25-yard rush by Knighton. Three plays later, Van Dyke found Rambo alone in the end zone for an over-the-shoulder 35-yard completion. At that point, Van Dyke was 6 of 9 for 93 yards and the two touchdowns.
Rambo was asked what he believes has changed with the offense.
“Uh, a lot,’’ Rambo said. “We winning. Guys are locked in, being leaders, being good at their position, winning one-on-one battles, playing hard and being football players. That’s what we are.”
The Yellow Jackets made it 14-7 at 4:21 of the opening quarter when Jordan Mason, untouched, broke through a gaping hole and sprinted 71 yards to the end zone.
Fumble trouble
But UM’s subsequent three fumbles not only led to 14 Georgia Tech points, they took away points that UM could have scored. All three fumbles came at the end of 15-plus-yard UM gains — Rambo’s after a 37-yard catch, tight end Elijah Arroyo’s after a 19-yard catch and Knighton’s after a 15-yard rush.
The Yellow Jackets tied the score at 14 on a 29-yard rush by Gibbs at 13:22 of the second quarter. The drive started after Arroyo’s fumble, which was the first play after UM freshman safety Avantae Williams made his first career interception.
A 28-yard UM field goal by Borregales gave UM the 17-14 lead with 9:48 left in the half. Borregales later missed a 40-yard attempt that hit the left upright and bounced out.
Georgia Tech safety Jaylon King’s 40-yard fumble return on Knighton’s fumble midway through the second quarter made it 21-17 Yellow Jackets.
“Despite those turnovers, we played a great game on offense,’’ said Van Dyke of UM’s 563 total yards. “We were really confident. We never got down on ourselves after the turnovers, and I think that really helped us. Just kept grinding through it.”
This story was originally published November 6, 2021 at 4:14 PM.
