FINAL: No. 8 Miami Hurricanes 39, Cal Golden Bears 38
It was an upset-filled weekend of college football, with a handful of the country’s top teams falling to lower-ranked teams.
The No. 8 Miami Hurricanes came close to joining that group, but a furious second-half rally for a second consecutive week allowed them to once again escape a conference game with a narrow victory.
This time, Miami erased a 25-point second-half deficit for a 39-38 win over the Cal Golden Bears on Saturday in front of a sellout crowd of 52,428 at California Memorial Stadium on the day ESPN’s College GameDay came to Berkeley for the first-time in the show’s history.
Miami (6-0, 2-0 ACC) trailed Cal (3-2, 0-2 ACC) 35-10 with 8:06 left in the third quarter before it ripped off four consecutive touchdown drives while holding the Golden Bears to just a field goal to secure the win.
The game-winning play: A 5-yard touchdown pass from Cam Ward to Elijah Arroyo on a drive that included a 77-yard catch-and-run from Xavier Restrepo to get Miami into the red zone and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that forced them back 15 yards with less than a minute left to play and a 22-yard catch-and-run from Damien Martinez on third and 20 to get Miami back to the Cal 3.
Miami linebacker Francisco Mauigoa intercepted a Fernando Mendoza fourth-down pass with 11 seconds left to seal the game.
Don’t call it a comeback, Part 2?
Um, folks, it’s a one-score game.
Cam Ward ran for a 24-yard touchdown to get Miami within six points, 38-32, with 4:04 left on the clock.
Hi, hello, ACC After Dark. It’s nice to formally meet you.
Don’t call it a comeback?
Miami found the end zone for a second consecutive drive, with Cam Ward finding Isaiah Horton for an 18-yard score to cut its deficit to 38-25 with 10:28 left to play.
It’s good to see the offense finally starting to hum, but is it too little, too late?
Field goal extends Cal’s lead
A 37-yard field goal in the opening minute of the fourth quarter put Cal back up by 20 points, 38-18, on Miami.
Another rushing touchdown for Miami
The Hurricanes chip away at their deficit with a Damien Martinez 1-yard rushing touchdown capping a 12-play, 75-yard drive.
UM goes for two and gets it.
The deficit is 35-18 with 3:02 left in the third quarter.
Another big pass play, another Cal touchdown
It’s now 35-10 Cal over Miami with 8:06 left in the third quarter.
A 56-yard catch-and-run from Fernando Mendoza to Jaivian Thomas set up an eventual 9-yard rushing touchdown from Chandler Rogers.
Defense gets a stop ... but Cal still extends lead
The Hurricanes defense opened the second half by forcing Cal into a three-and-out. Defensive tackle Simeon Barrow sacked Fernando Mendoza on third down to force Cal to punt.
The good vibes to start the second half lasted ... one play.
Cam Ward threw an interception on the Hurricanes’ ensuing drive, with his cross-body pass picked off by Nohl Williams and returned 40 yards for a touchdown.
Miami is down 28-10 with 13:07 left in the third quarter.
This could get ugly.
Halftime thoughts
For a second consecutive week, the Hurricanes enter halftime trailing — this time down 21-10 on the road to Cal.
Lapses in pass coverage and a pair of fourth-down plays — UM’s fail and Cal’s touchdown — have defined the game so far.
The Golden Bears get the ball to start the second half.
Cal’s fourth-down bet paid off
Cal had 4th and inches from its 34-yard line.
What happened next? Fernando Mendoza finds running back Jadyn Ott just beyond the line to gain and Ott takes care of the rest for a 66-yard touchdown.
Miami is now down 21-10 with 8 minutes left in the second quarter.
Canes cut into their deficit
A 10-play Hurricanes drive stalled in Cal territory, but Miami still got three points on an Andres Borregales 46-yard field goal.
UM is still down 14-10 with 9:07 left in the second quarter.
Golden Bears capitalize
And the first play on Cal’s drive following the Miami turnover on downs? A 51-yard pass from Fernando Mendoza to Trond Grizzell to get to the Miami 5.
Two plays later, Jadyn Ott finds his way into the end zone.
Cal is up 14-7 on Miami with 13:43 left in the second quarter.
UM turnover on downs at midfield
The Hurricanes went for it on fourth and 2 on the first play of the second quarter near midfield. Cam Ward’s pass to tight end Elijah Arroyo was short of the line of gain.
The Golden Bears take over on downs at their 44 yard line.
Cal ties it up
The Golden Bears tied the game on a 57-yard touchdown pass from Fernando Mendoza to a wide-open Jack Endries.
D’Yoni Hill was in coverage for Miami.
It’s a 7-7 game with 3:58 left in the first quarter.
Strong start for the Hurricanes’ run game
The Hurricanes got on the board first with a Mark Fletcher 3-yard touchdown run to cap a five-play, 63 yard drive.
Miami is up 7-0 with 6:19 left in the first quarter.
Fletcher ran the ball four times for 45 yards on the drive. Couple that with what Damien Martinez did on Miami’s first drive — three carries for 15 yards — this could potentially be the breakout game for Miami’s top running backs.
Welcome back Rueben Bain Jr.
Impeccable timing graced the Hurricanes entering their game against the Golden Bears on Saturday.
The University of Miami tempered bad news with good news Saturday, as a young Canes star returned from a long injury absence to regain his starting spot after a veteran transfer was deemed out with an undisclosed injury.
Reigning ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year Rueben Bain Jr. returned to the starting lineup at defensive end, while Marshall transfer Elijah Alston sat out with an injury sustained last week against Virginia Tech.
Bain made an immediate impact, getting a tackle for loss on the Hurricanes’ first defensive play. Cal ultimately went three and out.
Season recap
▪ Miami 41, Florida 17: Cam Ward threw for 385 yards and three touchdowns, Mark Fletcher added two scores on the ground, the defense held its own despite one of its top players exiting the game early with injury, and the No. 19 Hurricanes made quick work of the Florida Gators with a season-opening win at Gainesville’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to kick off a critical Year 3 under Mario Cristobal.
▪ Miami 56, Florida A&M 9: That one went as expected. Cam Ward threw for three touchdowns and ran for a fourth before turning the game over to the second-string offense midway through the third quarter. The defense held the Rattlers to just three field goals.
▪ Miami 62, Ball State 0: The No. 10 Miami Hurricanes had to wait through nearly two-and-a-half hours of lightning delays before kicking off their home game against Ball State on Saturday.
Once the game finally began, they wasted little time asserting their dominance, as was expected in this non-conference matchup.
The final score from a soggy Hard Rock Stadium: Hurricanes 62, Ball State 0.
It’s the most points Miami has scored in a shutout of a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent in program history.
▪ Miami 50, USF Bulls 15: The Miami Hurricanes and USF Bulls played a hectic, lengthy, back-and-forth first half on Saturday.
But once the teams returned from their locker rooms, the Hurricanes took over and played like the team that has dominated through the first three weeks of the season.
Fueled by three total rushing touchdowns by Damien Martinez, including two in the second half, and another stellar performance from quarterback Cam Ward, No. 8 Miami pulled away from USF and left Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium with a 50-15 road win.
▪ Miami 38, Virginia Tech 34: The No. 7 Hurricanes overcame a pair of 10-point second-half deficits to hold off Virginia Tech at Hard Rock Stadium to improve to 5-0 and 1-0 in ACC play.
Cam Ward led touchdown drives of 89, 70 and 57 yards in the second half, and Miami survived a final-play Hail Mary attempt from Virgnia Tech that was ultimately ruled incomplete after a lengthy review.
▪ Miami at California (tonight)
▪ Miami at Louisville (Oct. 19, time TBD)
▪ Miami vs. Florida State (Oct. 26, time TBD)
▪ Miami vs. Duke (Nov. 2, time TBD)
▪ Miami at Georgia Tech (Nov. 9, time TBD)
▪ Miami vs. Wake Forest (Nov. 23, time TBD)
▪ Miami at Syracuse (Nov. 30, time TBD)
Pregame Hurricanes reading
Need to catch up before kickoff? Here are the highlights of the Miami Herald’s coverage over the past few days.
▪ Miami Hurricanes’ Cam Ward continues to pick up accolades during strong start to season
▪ The duality of Miami’s close Virginia Tech win: Embrace victory and go ‘back to the drawing board’
▪ Game-saving tackle puts Hurricanes’ Elijah Arroyo in limelight
▪ Isaiah Horton’s latest feat in breakout season: breaking up Hail Mary pass
▪ Miami-Cal has ‘personal implications’ for Golden Bears QB, Columbus alum Fernando Mendoza
This story was originally published October 5, 2024 at 10:00 PM.
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