Canes Crush Orange 38-10
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Riding a dominant defense and a big-play offense, the Miami Hurricanes dictated play from start to finish Saturday, rolling past the Syracuse Orange 38-10 before a crowd of 60,337 at Hard Rock Stadium.
No. 18 Miami improved to 7-2 overall, 3-2 in the ACC. The Orange fell to 3-7 overall and 1-6 in conference play.
The Canes scored two touchdowns in a 23-second spurt late in the first half to break open a scoreless game and averaged 10 yards per play in a 17-point third quarter that put the game away.
Miami’s defense held the Orange to 285 total yards, forced three turnovers and racked up seven sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Safety Jakobe Thomas had a monster game with five tackles, one sack, one fumble recovery and an interception, while cornerback Keionte Scott had a 38-yard pick six late in the first half. Defensive end Akheem Mesidor recorded 1.5 sacks and 3.5 TFLs, while defensive tackle David Blay registered five stops.
Quarterback Carson Beck completed 18 of 24 passes for 247 yards and one touchdown and caught his first career pass from wide receiver Malachi Toney for a 14-yard score. Beck also completed a backwards pass to right tackle Francis Mauigoa for Miami’s final touchdown. Wide receiver Keelan Marion caught three passes for 116 yards, including a 61-yard scoring strike, and running back Girard Pringle rushed for 55 yards and one score.
“I think that we showed in spurts what a really good football team we are,” head coach Mario Cristobal said. “I think we also show what you see in college football, that games at some point in time, there’s some back and forth and some stagnant moments. That’s why you keep playing, that’s why the game is four quarters. And then show that some of our young players are really playing well.”
Syracuse quarterback Rickie Collins completed just 12 of 25 passes for 85 yards and two picks. Running back Yasin Willis carried 13 times for 63 yards. Linebacker Gary Bryant paced the Orange defense with six tackles.
After a scoreless first quarter, Miami’s offense got on track when Beck connected with Marion on a 25-yard reception before finding wide receiver Daylyn Upshaw on a 41-yard catch-and-run all the way to the Orange 26. Two plays later, Beck pitched to Toney, who scampered to his right before stopping to throw to his quarterback, who glided down the left sideline for a 14-yard touchdown. It was Beck’s first career catch and put Miami up 7-0.
Syracuse took over at its 25 but on 3rd and 8 Collins was picked off by Scott, who raced 38 yards to the end zone. The Canes’ lead was two touchdowns with 1:50 remaining in the first half.
The Orange responded with their best drive of the half, marching all the way to the Miami five-yard line. But after committing a false start on first down, Willis was hit in the backfield by Mesidor, who knocked the ball loose. Thomas recovered and the Canes headed to the locker room with a 14-0 lead.
Syracuse finally got on the scoreboard on its first possession of the second half as Trip Woody booted a 38-yard field goal to cut Miami’s lead to 11 points. But the Canes struck back quickly three plays later as Beck found Marion across the middle for a 61-yard touchdown. Beck eclipsed 10,000 career passing yards in the process. It was 21-3.
Miami’s defense forced another punt, and the offense went back to work. Toney rushed twice for 22 yards between an 11-yard catch. Pringle carried for six yards to get Miami into the red zone and then took a handoff around the left side for a 19-yard touchdown. UM’s lead had bulged to 25 points.
Thomas took over on the Orange’s ensuing possession. He sacked Collins on a blitz for 11 yards and then cradled a bobbled pass from wide receiver Darius Johnson and raced 10 yards to the Syracuse 23. The Canes settled for a 36-yard field from Carter Davis to push the lead to 31-3.
On the Orange’s next possession Mesidor and cornerback Jadais Richard combined to sack Collins on 4th and 7, giving the ball back to the offense at the UM 49. Pringle rushed for 12 yards and Beck hit Marion for a 30-yard gain to set up first and goal at the three-yard line. Trickery ensued as Beck took the snap, rolled left and then turned around to throw to (yes) Mauigoa, who rumbled into the end zone. It was technically a three-yard rush.
Orange backup quarterback Joseph Filardi hit tight end Elijah Washington-Baker for a 17-yard touchdown pass with 21 seconds left to cap the scoring for the night.
The Canes return to Hard Rock Stadium for their home finale next Saturday against NC State. Kickoff is 3:30 p.m. on either ESPN or ESPN2.
