MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – A 3-yard rushing loss, a 1-yard rushing loss and a sack of quarterback DJ Lagway that resulted in another 1-yard loss.

It took all of three plays on Florida’s opening possession last Saturday night at Hard Rock Stadium for the Miami defense to set the tone for what turned out to be a very long night for the Gators offense and ultimately, a 26-7 rivalry win for the now second-ranked Hurricanes.

From the start of the first quarter to the game’s final minutes, Miami’s defenders were an absolute force, pressuring Lagway and – aside from one drive – making it difficult for the Florida offense to move the ball with any kind of consistency.

The Hurricanes held the Gators to just 141 yards of offense, their lowest total since 1999. Florida managed a meager 2.7 yards per play, had just seven first downs and was held under 10 points for the first time since a 2022 loss to Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl.

But the statistic that stunned more of Miami’s coaches and players than any other? The fact Florida was 0-for-13 on third-down conversions and recorded its worst performance on that critical down since 1998.

“The part that really sticks out for me on the defense, which I didn’t even realize until after was 0-for-13 on third down,” Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said. “I’ve never been part of an organization that held a team to that particular statistic.”

Added linebacker Mohamed Toure, “That’s the down you go get them. That’s the down. We all know that, everybody on the defense. We all have a common goal. We all want to win. We all want to get to the next level. Third down is money down for [defensive backs], for the [defensive] line, for the linebackers. So, we just make sure we emphasize it in practice, emphasize it throughout the week and just go execute on weekends.”

For the Hurricanes, performances like Saturday’s are worth celebrating, especially given some of the struggles they had on the defensive side of the ball a year ago.

Defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman – who joined the program back in January – was tasked with reshaping the Miami defense and through four games, it’s clear he’s made significant progress on that front.

The Hurricanes are allowing an average of 244.5 yards per game, which ranks 15^th nationally and is first in the ACC. On the ground, opponents are averaging just 76.26 rushing yards per game. That ranks 13^th nationally and is tops in the ACC.

And Miami’s players say it’s Hetherman’s emphasis on playing with excitement, swarming to the ball, and tackling with violence – ESV, he calls it – that is making a difference for the Hurricanes.

“You saw that on the first drive,” said Rueben Bain Jr. who had 10 QB pressures, seven tackles, a tackle for loss and was in on a sack of Lagway on Saturday. “Everybody, when one person is on the ball, there’s probably five, six, seven orange jerseys running to the ball. That’s the way Coach Hetherman coaches us. He wants all 11, so we’re still working on that. But when you come into the building, [be] excited every day. Every time the ball is thrown or handed off, swarm to the ball and every time the ball is snapped, play violently.”

Toure, who had a team-high 10 tackles against Florida, played in Hetherman’s system when the two were previously at Rutgers.

He knew what to expect when he joined Miami’s defense and knew how Hetherman would expect the Hurricanes to play. For him, it’s been no surprise to see how Miami’s defense has performed through its first four games.

And he knows, even though he wasn’t at Miami last season, that the veterans on the Hurricanes’ defense feel like they have something to prove.

“They were very determined, from the day I got here. You could see they were working, working. I watched the spring ball tape, and they were already executing and getting better at certain things, but they knew there were certain things that we needed to keep growing on,” said Toure, who transferred to Miami in May. “But there’s an emphasis on those things, especially from the leaders – Rueben, me, Wes [Bissainthe], and the other leaders on the defense. We emphasize it and force people to do it. At the end of the day, coaches can only coach. We’re the ones that are out there, playing every single day. So, the leaders are just emphasizing it and demanding it from our brothers every single day.”

With their non-conference schedule now behind them and ACC play looming in October, the Hurricanes’ defense is – of course – focused on continuing to improve.

Their first test against a conference opponent will come Oct. 4 when Miami travels to Tallahassee to face rival Florida State, which posted a school-record 775 yards of offense in its win over Kent State this past weekend.

But the Hurricanes feel with their mindset – and their drive to get better – they can continue adding to their success.

“We want our guys to love football. We want our guys to be excited about it. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a walkthrough, a Tuesday practice where you’re trying to get a feel for the offense or it’s a Thursday practice where we’re a little bit further along. You’re coming in to watch film,” Hetherman said ahead of the game against Florida. “We want our guys to be excited to work together, to compete. … One of the messages always for our guys is we’re going to have mistakes. We know that. Hopefully Saturday there’s less mistakes than there are Tuesday. But the faster we play and the more physical we play, we feel like that erases a lot them. And as we continue to play together and jell, and guys continue to get more comfortable working together, every single week, we’ve got to limit some of those mistakes, communicate a little bit better and I think that’s where you’re starting to see some of the growth right now.”