Canes Rewind: A Look Back at the Win over Boston College
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – 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 45-20 win over Boston College in its regular-season finale.
The Recap
The Hurricanes entered their regular-season finale looking to snap a three-game losing streak which included a pair of hard-fought back-to-back losses to top-10 opponents.
But ahead of Friday’s game at Boston College, Miami’s players and coaches focused not on the challenges of the past three weeks, but on the opportunity that was ahead of them: an opportunity to finish the regular season on a positive note, show the kind of progress they’d made this season and start to set the tone for next year.
They wasted little time doing exactly that.
After Boston College scored on its opening drive, Miami’s offense put on a show.
Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke put the ball in the hands of his playmakers and engineered touchdown drives of 67, 63, 69, and 71 yards as the Hurricanes scored 28 unanswered points.
Boston College cut into Miami’s 28-7 third-quarter lead when its own playmaking quarterback Thomas Castellanos scored on a 21-yard run, but the Hurricanes responded with another touchdown of their own – a 4-yard scoring pass from Van Dyke to Jacolby George – and Boston College would get no closer.
Van Dyke finished the day completing 23 of 36 passes and threw for 290 yards with two touchdowns. Veteran receiver Xavier Restrepo notched his second straight 100-yard performance posting six catches 117 yards, while George had six catches for 89 yards.
Miami’s running backs also stepped up, with Henry Parrish, Jr. leading the way.
The third-year sophomore had a team-high 11 carries for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Ajay Allen, meanwhile, added nine carries for 70 yards and a touchdown and Mark Fletcher, Jr. continued his impressive freshman season with 12 carries for 44 yards with a touchdown.
“Just proud of our players,” head coach Mario Cristobal said. “After a couple of weeks of some really, really close games, tight games coming down to the last possession, last couple plays to continue to work and come up here on a shorter week and take care of business and put together a complete game; to really have fun playing football, to play hard and to be resilient.
“After that first drive when they went down the field and scored, felt that our guys really took control of the game and maintained the momentum, albeit that one turnover in the second half. But a lot of big plays, a lot of routine plays done really well and all in all, just a very complete game. Maybe our most complete game of the year.”
Numbers to Know
9 – Number of receivers who notched at least one catch in Friday’s win. Restrepo led the way with six catches for 117 yards. It’s the second straight game where Restrepo posted a 100-yard performance.
532 – Total yards of offense gained by the Hurricanes against Boston College. It was their highest offensive total against an ACC opponent this season and their highest offensive performance since they totaled 589 yards against Bethune-Cookman in September.
100 – Percent of successful fourth-down conversion attempts by Miami. The Hurricanes tried to extend drives three times on that crucial down and did so each time.
5 – Scoring drives by the Miami offense of at least 65 yards. The longest of those? A 92-yard drive that went 11 plays, took 5:51 off the clock and ended when George caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Van Dyke.
9 (again) – Tackles notched by Francisco Mauigoa in the win. Mauigoa also had a sack and two tackles for loss.
Quotable
“This win, it’s incredible. It’s an amazing feeling. You know, credit to everybody putting in the work, the coaches and my brothers that have been working endlessly every week to get results like his. Nothing, nothing’s better than winning.”
– Linebacker Francisco Mauigoa, on Miami bouncing back to snap a three-game losing streak
“I think he played excellent. What was he, [23] of 36, about 300 yards, a couple of touchdowns? I thought that some of the best things were the plays that never made the stat sheet: getting rid of the football under pressure, taking off with the football and putting [us] in second-and-six when everybody’s covered up and he’s under pressure. He’s done a great job, tremendous credit to him. He’s a great competitor, awesome young man, and a really good football player.”
– Head coach Mario Cristobal on the play of quarterback Tyler Van Dyke
“I probably had about 40 to 50 people here, maybe more than that, honestly. Growing up, my hometown, it’s a decently sized hometown, so a lot of connections and whatnot. It was cool to just go out there and just have fun. I’ve been here a bunch of times on recruiting visits, so it was cool to play the last regular-season game here.”
– Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, a Connecticut native, on what it meant to play a game close to his New England home
“We just executed, you know? We were big on execution. We practiced that way every day and today, we just showed it. We put everything together.”
– Running back Mark Fletcher, Jr. on the offensive performance Friday
Up Next
The Hurricanes, who finished the regular season with a 7-5 mark, will learn their postseason destination and bowl game opponent in the coming days.
It’ll be Miami’s first bowl appearance since 2020, when the Hurricanes came up just short against Oklahoma State in the Cheez-It Bowl, which has since been renamed the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
While the Hurricanes navigate the final weeks of the fall semester, their coaches will be hard at work on the recruiting trail ahead of the December early signing period.
Bowl announcements are set to be made December 3, while the early signing period runs from December 20-22.
