Hurricanes Feeding Off Loud Crowd at Hard Rock
By David Villavicencio
HurricaneSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Home field advantage.
For years, rumblings around the college football world talked about the Miami Hurricanes’ talent, their depth and their coaching. But you rarely heard any college football pundit or fan highlight the orange and green faithful supporting the five-time national champion Canes.
The electric atmosphere during Saturday’s impressive 28-10 victory over then-No. 13 Virginia Tech was proof that Hard Rock Stadium can be as loud and intimidating as any college football stadium in America.
“It was a great game,” Miami head coach Mark Richt said. “It was a great victory against a great team. We proved we can do it. There’s no doubt in my mind our fan base helped us get it done. There’s no doubt in my mind, being here, it helped us get it done. There’s no doubt in my mind the humidity here probably helped us get it done. The home field advantage was truly an advantage.”
Nearly 64,000 fans packed into Hard Rock Stadium and roared with every big play, giving their hometown Hurricanes a boost and simultaneously reminding the visiting Hokies they were very far from home.
“I have been to a bunch of games here,” Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster said. “I think the closest to the atmosphere they had here tonight was when [Michael] Vick came in his sophomore year. They beat us. We were a top-five football program at that time. I have not seen the atmosphere here like this in a long, long time. It was a good night for the Canes.”
Foster was not alone in noticing the heightened energy in the stands. Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente spoke about the “hostile environment” postgame, but it was his players who felt it most.
“It was loud, it was definitely loud,” senior cornerback Greg Stroman said. “They were into the game.
“It was pretty loud and a good environment, better than I had thought it would turn out to be,” redshirt junior defensive lineman Ricky Walker said. It was their homecoming and they had their blackout and all that, but like I said, I think Miami played their best game and they are going to win some more games.”
The excitement was evident hours before kickoff, as Miami fans packed into the Hard Rock Stadium parking lots for a marathon tailgate session.
“It was an hour before kickoff, one of the guys came out and they just noticed the difference of the energy,” Miami defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said. “The student section brought it and the fans brought it. Two hours before kickoff, just when the buses pulled up and seeing the scenes that were going on in the parking lot, let our guys know that the city is different and that’s the relationship between Hurricane football and South Florida.”
The Canes relished the energy coming from the stands and made sure to give the fans something to cheer about.
“It was magical,” linebacker Shaquille Quarterman said. “This was the livest game I’ve ever been a part of. I’ve never seen so much love for our team, the way our fans showed up. It took me for surprise, honestly, coming out running out the smoke. The smoke is always amazing, but when you see every seat filled and everybody standing up. We rarely saw any other color that wasn’t orange and green. We walked on the field for the first drive and it’s bonkers in there. It’s just amazing.”
Braxton Berrios, who scored Miami’s first touchdown against the Hokies, called the atmosphere “incredible.” The senior wide receiver has played a key role in Miami’s rise and he was thrilled to share Saturday’s success with the fans.
“They’ve been through a lot with us throughout the years,” Berrios said. “They deserve just as much as a lot of people on this team. They’ve been through the bad times and now they’re finally in the good times. They change everything, they really do. That is a huge advantage when Hard Rock gets going like that.”
Whether it was a big hit or a turnover forced by the defense or a big play for a first down or touchdown, Hard Rock Stadium was definitely rocking against the Hokies.
“It was a great night,” Richt said during his weekly teleconference on Sunday. “Every so often, I’ll take my headsets off to listen how loud it really is. I just want to get a gauge. You can tell it’s really loud when it goes through your mouth mic into your headset.
“There was no doubt our crowd was on it really from the beginning to the very end. Really, really proud of everybody who came and supported us.”
The No. 7/6 Hurricanes (8-0, 6-0 ACC) will look for even more support this Saturday, as No. 3/5 Notre Dame (8-1) comes to Miami for a primetime game between two longtime rivals. ESPN College GameDay will also be in town this weekend, adding to the excitement surrounding the matchup between the Canes and Fighting Irish.
“When GameDay comes, that means something good is happening at your school,” Richt said. “I hope they enjoy it, I hope we live up to the expectation of that type of a game. We’re about to play a team that is extremely physical, can pound the ball at will and got a quarterback who can certainly make plays. Their defense is playing great. They’re hot right now, and they’ll be a tough team to play, for sure.”
A week ago, Miami was No. 10 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings. After their impressive victory over Virginia Tech, the Hurricanes are expected to climb up a bit when the newest CFP rankings are released Tuesday night.
Momentum is building in Coral Gables and Richt believes Canes fans are going to be an even bigger factor this week in a top-10 matchup against the Fighting Irish.
“I think they’ll show up,” Richt said. “They had a good time, and I know they want to have another good time. So I think when we roll into the parking lot there at Hard Rock on Saturday night, it’s going to be as jam-packed or even more than it was this past weekend.”
