Canes Rewind: A Look Back at the Game Against Georgia Tech

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Each week this season, we’ll take a look at the game that was for the Hurricanes.

Here are some key storylines, numbers of note and quotes from Miami’s 23-20 loss to Georgia Tech on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium.

The Recap

After finishing a stretch of four non-conference games against Miami (OH), Texas A&M, Bethune-Cookman and playing a road game at Temple, the Hurricanes returned to Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday night to open ACC play against Georgia Tech.

In each of those games, Miami’s offense managed to score at least 38 points, while the Hurricanes defense held three of those four opponents under 10 points.

Things went differently on Saturday.

The Hurricanes struggled to get anything going offensively early and didn’t get on the scoreboard until kicker Andy Borregales converted on a 30-yard field goal just before halftime.

But Miami seemed to find a spark and added to its lead midway through the third quarter when quarterback Tyler Van Dyke connected with freshman tight end Riley Williams on a 22-yard scoring pass.

The Yellow Jackets, though, answered on their ensuing drive, going 75 yards on eight plays and pulling within 10-7 after quarterback Haynes King scored on a 6-yard rush up the middle.

Moments later, Georgia Tech took its first lead of the day when it capitalized on one of five Miami turnovers.

The Yellow Jackets, operating on a short field after a Van Dyke interception, needed just four plays to get in the end zone when Jamal Haynes scored on a 4-yard run.

Another Van Dyke interception and another short field led to more Georgia Tech points – this time after a 27-yard field goal – pushed the Yellow Jackets’ lead to 17-10 with 12:11 left.

Miami rounded out its scoring with a 3-yard touchdown run from Henry Parrish, Jr. and a 39-yard field goal from Borregales, but ultimately fell short when another Hurricanes turnover led to more Georgia Tech points, this time in the game’s final seconds.

“Obviously disappointing in a lot of different aspects. Again, just fell short in so many different ways,” Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said. “Battled. There were some signs of life. Not having a great first half, but coming out in the second half, doing some things and falling behind and getting up again.

“And then, at the end of the game, had a chance to put it away and should have just taken a timeout right there [to] recalibrate, just take a knee. Gave them a chance and they took advantage of it and scored. It’s that simple.”

Numbers to Know

123 – Game-high receiving yards gained by Hurricanes receiver Xavier Restrepo. The fourth-year junior had a long reception of 47 yards and totaled 39 yards after catch.

7 – Tackles notched by Miami safety Kamren Kinchens, who returned to action Saturday after getting hurt in the Hurricanes’ win over Texas A&M on Sept. 9.

16 – Points scored by Georgia Tech off Miami turnovers.

Quotable

“We had our opportunities, even though we didn’t play well. Obviously, we’ve could’ve coached better. Could have made a better decision. All of those things were on the table, and we just didn’t do it. Saturday is going to be here in a hurry against an excellent football team and we have to go on the road, and we have to get it done. Very simple.”

– Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal

“We just have to keep our head up. It’s not about one game. We’ve just got to move forward. We’ve got to erase this, fast. We’ve got to move on. We can’t be stuck up on one game and that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to put this in the past and learn from it and grow from it.”

– Hurricanes linebacker Francisco Mauigoa

“Can’t dwell on it. We have to move on. There’s still seven games left in the season. Still a lot in front of us. We can’t just dwell on this one loss and say our season’s over. We’ve got a lot of games left. Have to learn from it, have to move on from it, and play better football.”

– Hurricanes quarterback Tyler Van Dyke

Up Next

The 25th-ranked Hurricanes will continue their ACC schedule with a road test in Chapel Hill next Saturday night against 12th-ranked North Carolina.

The Tar Heels (5-0, 2-0) are coming off a 40-7 win over Syracuse in which quarterback Drake Maye completed 33 of his 47 passes and threw for 442 yards and three touchdowns. Two UNC receivers – Nate McCollum and Kobe Paysour – each had more than 100 yards in the win.

The Carolina defense, meanwhile, held Syracuse to just 221 total yards and one touchdown in the win.

North Carolina holds a 15-11 lead in the all-time series against Miami (4-1, 0-1) and has won four straight over the Hurricanes.