Canes Set to Close Out Regular Season at Syracuse
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – It is a mantra, a mission that has been in place all season.
Every day, Miami’s coaches and players have stressed the need for the Hurricanes to go 1-0 – in their workouts, in their meetings, in their practices on Greentree, and ultimately, on game day.
The thought behind that approach is simple enough.
As long as the Hurricanes go 1-0 every day in everything they do, the team’s big-picture goals will always remain within reach.
So far, that’s proven true. Now, with Miami set to play its final regular-season game on Saturday afternoon at Syracuse, holding on to that 1-0 mindset couldn’t be more essential.
If the sixth-ranked Hurricanes get a win, they’re playing for the ACC Championship next week.
If they don’t, they’ll no longer control their own postseason destiny.
“You maintain the focus because there is no next week without this week,” said Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward. “This is the championship game. We’ve got to win this to get there. So, [right now], we’re not really worried about the future.”
The Hurricanes (10-1, 6-1) find themselves on the verge of a conference championship game berth in large part because of how Ward has played this season.
The redshirt senior – a Senior Bowl invitee, Heisman Trophy contender and finalist for both the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award and the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award – has rewritten the Miami record book this season.
In last week’s win over Wake Forest, Ward – who has thrown for 3,774 yards this year – became Miami’s all-time single-season passing leader, bypassing the mark set by Bernie Kosar in 1984.
His 34 touchdown passes are also a new Miami record, breaking the mark of 29 set by Steve Walsh in 1988. And Ward is the first signal caller in program history to start a season with seven straight 300-yard performances, no small feat given the quarterbacks that have played at Miami.
Despite all the success, though, Ward hasn’t focused on much of recognition he’s received or the numbers he’s put together.
The wins are what matter to him and right now, winning Saturday matters most of all.
“He’s having all this attention from the Heisman and the O’Brien Trophy and all that stuff and it’s like he’s not even trying to pay attention to all that stuff. … He’s just focused on football,” said Xavier Restrepo, who earlier this season became Miami’s career leader in both receptions (191) and receiving yards (2,696). “Me and him are, every single morning, watching film at 5:00 or 6:00. All he’s trying to do is just get better and just try to dominate each and every single week. … He’s been the same guy each and every single day, ever since January [when] he got here. Just a relentless leader and just a super competitor.”
Said Ward, “I think you block it out by, I would have to say, really paying no mind to it and what I mean by that is, one, getting off that phone and two, letting it go through one ear and out the other. At the end of the day, a lot of stuff can change week by week. So, you’ve got to be consistent. I think that’s why I’m up for some of these [awards]. The receiving corps, the o-line, they’ve helped me out a lot. Those guys, they’ve been consistent. I’ve been consistent. [But] none of that means [anything] if you can’t win football games.”
Ward won’t be the only high-profile, record-breaking quarterback playing in Saturday’s game.
Syracuse’s Kyle McCord enters Saturday’s game with his own impressive resume.
In the Orange’s 31-24 win over Connecticut last week, McCord threw for a career-high 470 yards, which ranks second on Syracuse’s single-game record list. Last week, he also became Syracuse’s all-time single season passing leader with 3,946 yards, breaking the previous mark of 3,749 set by Ryan Nassib in 2012.
Containing him will be a task for the Hurricanes defense. That unit, though, is coming off one of its more impressive showings of the season in last week’s 42-14 win over Wake Forest.
After allowing a touchdown on the Demon Deacons’ opening drive, the Hurricanes held the Wake offense without a score in the second half.
Miami limited Wake Forest to just 193 total yards and the defense turned in a touchdown of its own when defensive back Meesh Powell scored on a 76-yard interception return in the second quarter.
Building on that performance will be key against McCord and a Syracuse offense that is averaging 454.0 yards per game, a number that ranks 11th among FBS programs.
The Hurricanes say they’re ready to answer that call.
“Syracuse shows a lot on the film. They’ve got a really good quarterback, a good core of receivers that can run routes and they’ve got a really good quarterback that [can] throw the ball, put the ball at the right spots,” said linebacker Francisco Mauigoa, who had a game-high 12 tackles last week. “He’s very accurate. He uses his legs when he needs to. … It’s a big challenge for us. We’re ready for it. We’re excited for the opportunity and we’re just going to attack it day by day.”
Ward, McCord and all the talented offensive playmakers surrounding them could be the difference-makers on Saturday. And they’ll likely capture the attention of a national TV audience.
But Miami head coach Mario Cristobal says his team’s mentality and approach, honed over the course of the last 11 months, will be a factor, too.
“Our process has been really good for us,” Cristobal said. “Our guys believe it, they regurgitate it, they flat-out speak it and live it, before we even get to them. Probably, the best way to put it is, [for] our team, the clear understanding is this is Miami against Syracuse. This is not Cam Ward against Kyle McCord. This is not [Syracuse tight end Oronde Gadsen II’s] records versus [Xavier] Restrepo’s records. … This is Miami against Syracuse, the most important game of the year. So, the 1-0 process and mentality.”
