Canes Edge Cardinals in 52-45 Thriller

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — After two straight prime-time thrill rides, the Miami Hurricanes brought their edge-of-your-seat gridiron show to daytime television.

Hope you didn’t blink.

Quarterback Cam Ward threw four touchdown passes, wide receivers Sam Brown, Jr. and Xavier Restrepo each topped the 100-yard receiving mark and Miami rushed for 219 yards in a wild 52-45 win over Louisville Saturday before a crowd of 59,115 — the second largest in L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium history.

The sixth-ranked Canes improved to 7-0 and 3-0 in ACC play. The Cardinals fell to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in conference play. In the process the Canes are bringing back to Coral Gables the Schnellenberger Trophy – featuring a pair of bronzed boots worn by legendary Miami and Louisville head coach Howard Schnellenberger.

Miami racked up 538 yards of total offense and led by two touchdowns in the third quarter before Louisville stormed back with two touchdowns in 67 seconds to tie it. But the Canes pulled away in the fourth quarter, holding the ball for nine minutes and clinching the game with an 11-play, 80-yard scoring march.

“That was a hard-fought game, a lot of back and forth,” head coach Mario Cristobal said. “Explosive plays by us, explosive plays by them. We had some errors on special teams that certainly hurt us, but one thing that didn’t was our effort. We always played hard. There was resiliency. We made plays when it mattered. … A lot of good stuff.”

Ward completed 21 of 32 passes for 319 yards. Restrepo had seven receptions for 101 yards and one touchdown, while Brown totaled 125 yards on just three catches, including a score. Jacolby George and Isaiah Horton also had touchdown grabs. Running back Damien Martinez carried 12 times for 89 yards and one touchdown, while fellow back Mark Fletcher, Jr. had 73 yards on 13 carries. The Canes were a crisp, efficient 9 of 15 on third down and converted both of their fourth-down attempts.

Defensive tackle Simeon Barrow, Jr. had a monster game in the trenches, collecting six tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and forcing a fumble that linebacker Raul Aguirre, Jr. recovered for a touchdown. Linebacker Francisco Mauigoa had four tackles and two passes defensed.

Cards quarterback Tyler Slough completed 31 of 51 passes for 342 yards and four touchdowns. Wide receiver Ja’Corey Brooks had six catches for 107 yards and two scores. Running back Isaac Brown rushed for 56 yards and a score, and wide receiver Caullin Lacy returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown.

Miami’s defense forced a three-and-out to start the game. Ward picked up the game’s initial first down with a 14-yard pass to Brown before scrambling 10 yards to the Cards 32. Three plays later Miami appeared to score a touchdown on a pass to Restrepo, but it was called back due to offensive pass interference. Andy Borregales capped the drive with a 55-yard field goal and the Canes led 3-0.

Slough hit wide receiver Chris Bell for 17 yards to start Louisville’s next drive and two plays later Brown raced down the left sideline for a 43-yard touchdown. The Cardinals had a 7-3 lead.

Miami answered right back as Fletcher carried three straight times for 40 yards to the Cards 30. Two plays later, Ward rolled left and fired a 27-yard scoring strike to George in the back of the end zone – reminiscent of their touchdown connection in Gainesville to start the season.

Mauigoa stopped Brown on 3^rd and short, but Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm elected to go for it from his own 32. Shough gained two yards on a sneak to move the chains, but the Canes held from there and got the ball back on their 21-yard line.

Ward hit Restrepo for 18 yards to start the drive. After two runs by Martinez, Ward lofted a pass down the middle of the field to a wide-open Brown, who glided into the end zone for a 49-yard touchdown. Miami had a double-digit lead.

Running back Donald Chaney broke off a 22-yard gain to move the ball into Canes territory before Shough hit Bell for 27 yards to set Louisville up with first and goal at the two-yard line. Two plays later Shough connected with tight end Mark Redman on a three-yard touchdown and the Cards’ deficit was back to three.

The Canes soon faced a 4^th and 1 at their own 25 but converted as Fletcher gained three yards. On the next play Ward dumped a pass off to Fletcher for an 18-yard gain. But defensive tackles Jordan Guerad and Dez Tell sacked Ward on back-to-back plays and UM was forced to punt for the first time. A penalty on the return put the ball back at Louisville’s three-yard line. On the next snap, Barrow popped the ball loose from Brown and Aguirre recovered the fumble in the end zone to restore Miami’s 10-point lead.

Shough went back to work, connecting with Chaney on a 19-yard gain before hitting Bell for 18 yards down the left sideline to the Canes 28. But Barrow sacked Shough for an eight-yard loss on third down, forcing a 52-yard field goal try by Brock Travelstead. He missed wide left, and Miami got the ball back with 1:38 remaining in the first half.

Three plays later, Restrepo appeared to make a juggling catch to move the chains but replayed reversed the call. The Canes punted and the Cards took over at their 30 with 57 seconds left. Slough completed four passes and running back Duke Watson busted a run up the middle for 26 yards to Miami’s five-yard line. But there were only three seconds on the clock so Travelstead came in for a 22-yard field goal. The Canes were up 24-17 at halftime and both teams were averaging seven yards per play.

On the opening drive of the second half, Ward converted a 3^rd and 9 with a 12-yard to Horton and then moved the chains again with a seven-yard scramble to the Louisville 38. On 3^rd and 6 from the 34-yard line, Martinez bulldozed up the middle for a 21-yard gain. Three plays later Ward hit Restrepo in the right corner of the end zone for a nine-yard score and Miami had a two-touchdown lead. The Canes converted all four of their third-down attempts on the drive, and it was the first third-quarter touchdown allowed by the Cardinals this season.

But Louisville responded in mere seconds as Lacy returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. On the next snap, Fletcher took a pass from Ward but fumbled and Guerad recovered at the Miami 26. Three plays later Shough fired a 21-yard scoring strike to Brooks and the score was knotted up at 31.

The Canes faced another 4^th and 1 in their territory and Fletcher muscled his way to a one-yard gain to the 35-yard line. On the next play Ward spun left and fired a long pass to Restrepo, who corralled it and raced all the way to Louisville’s two-yard line. Ward then hit Horton on a slant for a two-yard score and Miami was back in front.

The Canes appeared to force a three-and-out, but tight end Duane Martin rushed for 14 yards on a fake punt to keep the drive alive. The Cards went for it on fourth down again at the Canes 37 and Miami was flagged for holding in the secondary.  Four plays later Shough threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Watson and the game was tied at 38.

Two plays later, Ward connected with Brown, who spun out of a tackle and raced up field for a 59-yard gain to the Louisville 21. Ward hit George for 10 yards and then running back Ajay Allen covered the remaining 11 yards to the end zone on two totes. Miami was back up 45-38 with 11:17 left in the game.

An intentional grounding call on Shough thwarted Louisville’s ensuing drive and the Canes got the ball back at their 20. Allen ran for 13 yards and then Ward hit Restrepo for four yards to pick up a 3^rd and 3. Linebacker Ben Perry sacked Ward to force a 3^rd and 17 but Ward scrambled up the middle for 22 yards to move the chains. Martinez picked up another third down with a five-yard rush, and then made a highlight-reel touchdown run, carrying defenders into the end zone on a 30-yard score that put the Cards in a desperate spot.

Shough drove Louisville 77 yards in 13 plays, capping the drive with a four-yard touchdown pass to Brooks. But there were only 54 seconds left and the Canes recovered the ensuing onside kick.

The Canes next return home to Hard Rock Stadium to host Florida State. Kickoff is next Saturday at 7 p.m. on ESPN.