Hurricanes’ ‘selfless’ offense dominant in Louisville win to keep Miami undefeated
The Miami Hurricanes’ offense was built for a game like Saturday — and once again showed why they are always in a game when the group is firing on all cylinders.
UM’s 52-45 win against the Louisville Cardinals was a back-and-forth affair, shootout that included nearly 1,000 yards of total offense and 16 total plays of at least 20 yards.
And in the end, it was Miami that made more big plays and held on to keep its undefeated record intact.
“That’s the standard,” wide receiver Sam Brown said. “We want to score on every drive, be the best offense play by play, possession by possession, game by game.”
‘Selfless’ offense a dominant offense
Miami’s offense has shown so far this season it has the explosiveness, patience, skill and drive to do just that.
The Hurricanes (7-0, 3-0 ACC), who stayed at No. 6 in the AP poll for a third consecutive week, lead the country with an average of 577.3 yards per game and 8.05 yards per play. They are second in scoring offense with an average of 48.3 points per game — just behind Indiana (48.7 points per game). UM has scored at least 50 points in four of seven games, a school record. They have had no fewer than 500 yards of offense in every game.
On Saturday, the Hurricanes racked up 538 yards, including a season-best 219 on the ground. Two receivers had 100-yard games — a first for UM since 2019. Miami’s offense had six touchdowns, with a different player finding the end zone on each scoring play
“We are so selfless right now, and I feel like that’s why we’re playing so well,” said fifth-year wide receiver Xavier Restrepo, who had seven catches for 101 yards and one of those touchdowns. “Again, we haven’t played our best game yet. We’re working towards that, getting closer and closer each and every single week, but these guys on our team are great. Really resilient.”
Among the key contributors against Louisville:
▪ Of course, it starts with Cam Ward. He completed 21 of 32 passes for 319 yards and four touchdowns. He is the first player in UM history to throw for at least 300 yards in seven consecutive games.
On the season, Ward has completed 68.7 percent of his passes for 2,538 yards and 24 touchdowns against one interception.
He is one touchdown pass away from becoming the eight player in UM history to throw for at least 25 touchdowns in a season and first since Tyler Van Dyke in 2021.
The school record for touchdown passes in a season is 29 by Steve Walsh in 1988.
▪ Brown, who had a season-high 125 yards on three catches, including a 49-yard touchdown reception early in the second quarter. Entering Saturday, Brown had just 246 receiving yards through four games and just one reception over 30 yards. His emergence, along with strong seasons from Restrepo, Isaiah Horton and Jacolby George, adds another layer to the Hurricanes’ already lethal passing attack.
“It was a three-headed monster,” Brown said, “but we created something different: A four-headed monster.”
▪ The three-prong attack in the run game. Miami primarily used Mark Fletcher in the first half, during which he had 10 of his 13 carries. Once the second half began, coach Mario Cristobal leaned on Damien Martinez and Ajay Allen. Martinez ran 12 times, including nine second-half carries, for a team-high 89 yards and a 30-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Allen ran five times, all in the fourth quarter, for 31 yards and a touchdown. Fletcher finished with 79 yards.
“We feed off each other’s energy big,” Martinez said. “When one person makes a play, we all want to make a play.”
▪ A fully healthy offensive line following the return of Jalen Rivers, who had missed the previous five games with an undisclosed injury. Rivers started at his usual spot at left tackle, but also rotated at left guard, which allowed Markel Bell (who started in Rivers’ absence) to still get playing time.
“There’s a really a high level of dependable, tough offensive lineman that we can count on to win games in the case of the pinch or just as part of the rotation,” Cristobal said.
Gutsy fourth-down decisions
Want another example of how much Cristobal trusts his offense?
Twice during the game the Hurricanes opted to go for it on fourth and 1 from deep in their own territory instead of punt the ball away.
And both times Miami converted.
The first instance came in the second quarter with Miami on its 25-yard line up by just three points, 17-14. From the shotgun, Ward handed the ball to Fletcher, who gained three yards to move the chains. Miami ultimately had to punt on that drive, but a Louisville penalty on the punt return had the Cardinals start their next drive at their 3. UM forced a fumble on the first play, with Raul “Popo” Aguirre landing on it in the end zone for a UM touchdown.
The second instance came late in the third quarter after Louisville had tied the game at 31. Miami faced fourth down on its 34 and again went to Fletcher to pick up the first down. Ward then found Restrepo for a 63-yard catch-and-run that set up a 2-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Horton.
“I knew it was the right thing, trusted the big guys up front and I like the size of our backs,” Cristobal said. “We liked what we saw. We’re not just going to run our head into a wall and hope that it works out.”
This story was originally published October 20, 2024 at 2:45 PM.
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