Canes Set for In-state Showdown at USF

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Already once this season, they’ve traveled to face an in-state opponent in an environment filled with raucous fans eager to see them come up short.

And already once this season, they’ve silenced those fans and come home with a win.

Now, the eighth-ranked Hurricanes look to do it again, only this time, instead of heading to Gainesville to face Florida, they’re traveling to Tampa to face an upset-minded USF team looking for a program-defining moment while a national audience watches in primetime.

There will most certainly be a buzz in the air at Raymond James Stadium on Saturday, but the Hurricanes, for their part, remain focused on the task at hand: finding a way to go 1-0 for the week against an opponent they know has its share of talented playmakers.

“We like it. We really do,” Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal said of the opportunity to play another in-state foe. “We treat everybody independently … That opponent is the most important game that we have. Obviously, the amount of energy [these games] bring out in the alumni and the fan bases, you can tell, obviously, there’s a lot of passion behind it. It’s good stuff. It’s good stuff and we’re just focused on getting better.”

Added wide receiver Xavier Restrepo, “Those guys play really, really hard. I mean, snap-to-whistle, first play to the last play of the game, you’ve got to give a lot of props to those guys. They have some really good [defensive backs] out there and it’s going to be one of our toughest looks yet. … Super excited to play another in-state team. It kind of means something, you know, to both of our teams to play each other and come out with a victory. Super, super stoked to play those guys over there at the University of South Florida.”

While USF’s defense has played well this season and is eighth nationally with eight forced turnovers, there’s no doubt the matchup between Miami and USF’s quarterbacks could be one of the difference makers Saturday.

Hurricanes signal caller Cam Ward has been nothing short of impressive through his first three starts at Miami (3-0).

Ward, who entered the year as the ACC Preseason Player of the Year after transferring from Washington State, is the first Hurricanes quarterback to start a season with three straight 300-yard performances.

He has completed 73 percent of his passes and thrown for 1,045 yards and 11 touchdowns. He needs just 89 yards to pass the 15,000-yard mark for his college career, a mark that is certainly within reach Saturday.

But his coach doesn’t expect that personal milestone will be anywhere near the forefront of the quarterback’s mind.

“The guy’s restless. If it doesn’t have much to do with us winning or getting better, I don’t think he has any interest in it, quite frankly,” Cristobal said of Ward. “It’s the right mentality. He’s got this window to play college football, and he came to Miami for a lot of reasons and one of them is winning and proving he can help a program be a winner. He’s laser focused and when he’s that, we’re seeing what it is when he is that.”

USF, meanwhile, is led by junior quarterback Byrum Brown who has rewritten the school’s record book during his first two seasons with the Bulls (2-1).

Entering Saturday’s game, Brown owns 12 USF records, including the season passing record (3,292 in 2023) and the season touchdown passing record (26, also in 2023).

Through the Bulls’ first three games, he has completed 56 percent of his passes and thrown for 448 yards and two touchdowns. He’s also USF’s leading rusher with 254 yards and two more touchdowns.

His mobility and USF’s quick, up-tempo style will be a new challenge for the Hurricanes this week, but it’s one Miami’s defense feels prepared to face, especially given the way it has played early in the year.

Miami held its last two opponents, Florida A&M and Ball State, out of the endzone and the Hurricanes have the nation’s sixth-ranked defense, holding opponents to an average of just 188.7 yards per game.

The Hurricanes have also totaled 12 sacks, a number that is tied for second nationally; are third nationally in interceptions (6) and have 27 tackles for loss, a number that is tied for eighth nationally.

Continuing that stellar play at USF against Brown and the Bulls’ offense will no doubt be a priority.

“They have a really good offense. They have a talented offense. They have a very fast offense, too and they do a really good job functioning as an offense,” said linebacker Francisco Mauigoa. “They have a really good quarterback that can run the ball and throw the ball. They have a really good corps of running backs that are physical and tough, so, all that, we’re being prepared and it’s all in the process of practicing and making sure that we get ourselves in the best spot to play that opponent.”

Added fellow linebacker Wesley Bissainthe, “You just do your job, do your job, read your keys, pay attention to what you’re supposed to pay attention to, and everything will take care of itself. Control what you can control.”

Controlling what they can control will be a theme for all of the Hurricanes on Saturday.

They know they’ll face a hungry team looking to win its first game against a ranked opponent since 2016. And they know a frenzied crowd – expected to be at more than 60,000 – will try to make its presence felt.

But through its first three games, Miami’s businesslike approach and drive to get better have been constants.

That, they say, will continue to make a difference.

“We’re proud that we’re being acknowledged, but it’s so in the back of any thought as it relates to our progress, to our drive, to our determination,” Cristobal said. “Honestly, we just want to get to work. We just want to get better. We just want to go play football. We want to play to the Miami Hurricanes’ standard and we have a lot of work to do to get there.”

Said Restrepo, “We’re not the best players in the world yet, so there’s obviously a lot of room to grow and to learn, whether that’s mental, physical or just even [the] emotional side of the game, you know? … In every aspect, we’re trying to improve our best. We have dreams and aspirations with ourselves, and the team. So, we’re chasing that, and we have so much to get, so there can’t be any room for complacency or comfortability.”