Defense Delivers in Win over Wake Forest

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – All season long, the mantra has been simple: go 1-0 every week.

In many ways, it’s a call for the Hurricanes to focus on the present, to stay in the moment, to keep from looking forward and, on the tough days, to avoid dwelling in the past.

For Miami’s defense, that mindset came in plenty handy over the course of the last two weeks.

Two weeks ago in Atlanta, that group didn’t have its best showing and ultimately, the Hurricanes came up short in a loss to Georgia Tech.

But on Saturday, when Miami returned to the field to close out its home schedule with a crucial conference matchup against ACC foe Wake Forest, that defense came through for the Hurricanes in a big, big way.

Miami’s defenders held the Demon Deacons scoreless in the second half, limited Wake Forest to just 193 total yards and ultimately, helped the eighth-ranked Hurricanes finish their home slate with a 42-14 win.

It was a victory that gave Miami’s seniors a memorable finale at Hard Rock Stadium, gave their Hurricanes their first 10-win season since 2017 and gives Miami (10-1, 6-1) a chance to clinch a berth in the ACC Championship Game with a win at Syracuse next week.

For the defense, all of that is something to celebrate – even if it’s just for an afternoon.

“I would say it felt great,” said Hurricanes defensive back Meesh Powell, who in the second quarter intercepted Wake Forest’s Hank Bachmeier and returned the pick 76 yards for a touchdown that gave Miami a 17-7 lead. “Having the type of offense that we have, everyone likes to talk about the offense a lot, so being able to have an exceptional game that we played on defense – still a few things we’ve got to correct, actually a lot of things to correct – but just being able to put that on tape, on display, was definitely good for us.”

Said Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal, “Even though they scored [on their first possession], we were more along the lines of ‘Everybody settle down.’ The couple things that hurt us on that drive, we’ve been good at, and we fixed them. … It was a tremendous turnaround for [the defense], in terms of communication, alignment, assignment. Those guys were able to play fast, and they played with an edge today. They knew the game was going to come down to them providing stops, because we’ve been really good offensively all year.”

Powell – who, along with the interception, also had three tackles, a sack and broke up two passes – wasn’t the only Hurricane defender to turn in a big performance Saturday.

Linebacker Francisco Mauigoa had a game-high 12 tackles. Defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor had seven tackles and a sack. And linebacker Wesley Bissainthe added five tackles and a sack.

As a whole, Miami’s defense totaled five sacks, held Wake Forest to just 94 rushing yards and 99 passing yards, and limited the Demon Deacons to just 4-of-14 on third-down conversion attempts. Wake Forest (4-7, 2-5) also came up empty on its three trips into the red zone.

That that dominance came after the Georgia Tech game and after the Hurricanes gave up an early touchdown Saturday, Cristobal said, was a testament to the unit’s resiliency.

“Communication, alignment, assignment, and really, the leadership council and the players on this football team, they decided they had had enough, and they were going to make things better from top to bottom, and they did,” Cristobal said. “They went out here today and they proved it. You don’t want to allow a touchdown, but I thought it was neat that after they scored on their opening possession, that that was it. … Hats off to the defense and all those players, they played unbelievable.”

Added Mesidor, “In the bye week, we harped on communication a lot. And especially on the d-line. It’s physicality and pushing the pocket and o-line vertical. The first half, the first series, they got us, but we [made] adjustments. We fixed up real quick and then we dominated.”

Now, with their home finale behind them and another strong defensive showing in the books, the Hurricanes turn their attention to Syracuse, and a high-powered offense that enters Saturday’s game riding a two-game win streak and with a quarterback in Kyle McCord that has shown an ability to post some big numbers.

On Saturday, the Orange (8-3, 4-3) notched a 31-24 road win at Connecticut and will, more than likely, be motivated to play spoiler when the Hurricanes come to town next week.

That’s why it didn’t take long for Miami’s coaches and players to turn the page on the win over Wake Forest – no matter how well the defense played.

“[Going] 1-0 has been our mindset since January,” Powell said. “We always know, even in a moment where there could be tribulation, it goes back to our rule of being 1-0. That’s perfect for us, that mindset.”

Added Mesidor, “We don’t look two weeks in the future. We look a week ahead and what we have next week is Syracuse. In order to reach the goals that we want, we have to dominate in that game as well. So, we’re just locked in on Syracuse and getting a win.”