Canes Rewind: A Look Back at the Win over Florida

GAINESVILLE, 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 No. 19 Miami’s 41-17 win over Florida on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville.

The Recap

The Hurricanes came into 2024 with a new-look roster and plenty of high expectations.

Miami earned the No. 19 spot in both the Associated Press and US LBM preseason Coaches polls, had multiple players land on the preseason watch lists for just about every major college football award and had the ACC Preseason Player of the Year – Cam Ward – under center.

And in their first test of the season, the Hurricanes delivered.

The Hurricanes scored on six of their first eight possessions and never looked back in what was eventually a dominant 41-17 win over the rival Gators.

Ward, a transfer from Washington State who made his Miami debut on Saturday and has been earning consistent praise from teammates and coaches throughout the offseason, was a force, completing 26 of 35 passes and throwing for 385 yards and three touchdowns.

According to the Associated Press, he became the first Miami quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards in his first Hurricanes start since at least 1979.

But Ward wasn’t the only offensive playmaker to have a big day.

Wide receiver Xavier Restrepo, who last season set a single-season Miami record with 85 catches for 1,092 yards, had seven catches for a game-high 112 yards and moved into 12^th place on Miami’s all-time receiving yards list.

Running back Damien Martinez, a transfer from Oregon State, had 15 carries for 65 yards, and tight end Elijah Arroyo had a career-high four catches for 89 yards.

Defensively, the Hurricanes held Florida to just 261 yards and forced two turnovers.

“I thought our guys came out right away and created momentum, seized momentum and when it seemed like Florida was going to get some of it back, the response was awesome,” Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal said. “After the interception, [came] up with a big stop, forced the field goal and it just felt like every time they had an opportunity to respond, we did. From a 99-yard drive or a 96-yard drive to converting some really critical down-to-business situations. A lot of special guys making a lot of special plays.”

Numbers to Know

3 – Sacks of Florida quarterback Graham Mertz posted by the Hurricanes defense. Linebacker Francisco Mauigoa and defensive lineman Tyler Baron each got to Graham once, while defensive lineman Elijah Alston and defensive back Jaden Harris combined on a third.

67 – Yards gained by Miami defensive back Meesh Powell on his interception of a Graham pass in the final seconds of the third quarter. Harris also had an interception in Saturday’s win.

2 – Touchdowns posted by Hurricanes running back Mark Fletcher, Jr., who spent the offseason working his way back from an injury sustained in last year’s finale against Rutgers. Fletcher finished the day with seven carries for 23 yards and his two scores were a career high.

529 – Yards gained by the Hurricanes in Saturday’s win. It marked the most Miami has totaled against an SEC opponent since the Hurricanes had 542 yards against Vanderbilt in 1981.

34 – Number of consecutive home openers Florida had won – until Saturday, when the Hurricanes posted their 24-point victory at the Swamp.

Quotable

“As you know, nobody really like to talk about the starting point. I knew when I got to Miami there was a lot of work to do, and these guys have been through a lot, and they made the decision that was enough. They’ve had enough, and they were going to prove that by the way they played the game. And they did that, and a lot of fans made their way through it. I know [Florida] only gave us 4,000 tickets. I don’t know how that’s even legal, but I think a lot more of our fans found a way to get in the stadium and I want to make sure they’re recognized by our players.”

– Head coach Mario Cristobal, on what the win over Florida means to the program

“Right now, it was the best decision I made. Even going through that process back in January, that was one of the hardest decisions I had to make, as a person, as a player. But, you know, I wanted to accomplish a lot in college, and especially at the FBS level. I won a lot of games at the FCS level, so when I made that jump to Power Five, I didn’t get the experience that I wanted early on. And God gave me another shot to come do it in Miami and what other place would you want to do it at? Especially in a city like that, with fans like that, who are going to travel like they did today? So, shoutout to them. They came, they showed out, they stayed the whole game. You know we’re going to try to keep on honoring them.”

– Quarterback Cam Ward, on his decision to come to Miami, instead of entering the NFL Draft

“That’s all credit to Coach Cristobal and the recruiting staff. They bring in the right kind of guys, you know? You can’t just always bring in any type of guy. You’ve got to bring a certain type of guy to fit the program, as well as us being a player-led program as well. There were already leaders in here like Anez Cooper and Jalen Rivers that showed me the standard and showed me and Cam [Ward] the standard. So, when we got to see it so when we transfers like Damien Martinez and Tyler Baron and some of the incoming freshmen came in, we were just able to keep relaying that standard, just keep it up.”

– Defensive back Meesh Powell, on the chemistry the Hurricanes have already built so early in the season

“It meant a lot, you know. We put the work in … We knew that if we did what we needed to do, we would have no problem getting it done, just because we have so much faith and so much trust in each other. The hard work was done since January. Those last eight months were tough, you know, and at Greentree, in the weight room … that’s where all the work was done.”

– Receiver Xavier Restrepo, on what the win meant after all the work Miami put in during the offseason

“We knew the defensive line that we were going to face today was going to be a tough one. They’re a great team. They’re a great front. They’re a great defense and we were prepared for that. So going into this game, we just had the mindset like we prepared well for this team, and we just executed well. We know we have a quarterback. You’re going to be blocking … he’s going to find his receivers. It might take eight to 10 seconds, so we have to keep blocking. I love Cam. I love our receivers. I love our whole team.”

– Offensive lineman Jalen Rivers on the offensive line’s effort Saturday

Up Next

After notching their first win in Gainesville since 2002, the Hurricanes return to South Florida where they will play their home opener on Saturday against Florida A&M.

The Rattlers, who won the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship last season, have already picked up a pair of wins, including a 22-18 comeback victory over South Carolina State on Saturday.

Quarterback Daniel Richardson completed 23 of 38 passes in the win and threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns, including the six-yard go-ahead scoring pass to Thad Franklin, Jr. with 5:39 left.

Miami holds a 10-1 lead in the all-time series with its lone loss coming the first time the two teams met, back in 1979. The Hurricanes and Rattlers last played in 2016, with Miami notching a 70-3 win.