Canes Head to Virginia Tech for Crucial ACC Matchup

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Over the course of the last two weeks, they’ve been a force.

The Hurricanes haven’t just won their last two games, they’ve dominated, outscoring their opponents – Syracuse and NC State – 79-17. Their defense has forced a combined five turnovers in those wins and held the Orange and Wolfpack to a combined two touchdowns, with both scores coming late in the fourth quarter of their respective games.

Veterans like quarterback Carson Beck, defensive linemen Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor, and safety Jakobe Thomas are making big plays, while freshmen like Girard Pringle, Jr., Bryce Fitzgerald and Joshua Moore have added depth and, in some cases, stepped up to help Miami navigate a series of injuries across the roster.

It has been complementary football at its finest and, now the Hurricanes – No. 13 in the most recent College Football Playoff Rankings – have a chance to continue building on their success when they travel to Blacksburg to face old rival Virginia Tech on Saturday.

It’s another crucial conference matchup Miami knows it needs to win if the Hurricanes (8-2, 4-2 ACC) want to move closer to their goal of competing for a championship.

And that’s why Miami’s focus is on Virginia Tech and nothing else this week.

“I think we’re super talented. We have all the talent in the world,” said Beck, who ranks second in the nation with his 73.2 completion percentage on the season. “And for us, I mean, I keep preaching this, but it’s about focusing each and every day and just trying to go 1-0 and keeping things simple every Monday, every Tuesday, every Wednesday, every Thursday and so on and so forth, just shrinking the margins, just focusing on what we need to focus on each and every day. But obviously, with each opportunity that we’re given, we just need to execute. So, again, that’s where my mind is kind of at and I think that we’re very talented on both sides of the ball and [in] all three facets.”

Added Thomas, “We control what we can control … 1-0 every week. We’re trying to be the best version of ourselves each and every week and when that time comes, that time comes and it’ll handle itself then. But right now, we’re just focused on Virginia Tech.”

For their part, the Hokies (3-7, 2-4) enter Saturday’s game looking to build on what’s been a big week in Blacksburg.

While the season hasn’t gone as the Hokies had hoped and Virginia Tech has lost two straight, on Wednesday the program welcomed its new head coach, James Franklin, to campus.

Franklin, who posted a 104-45 record during his 11-year tenure at Penn State, will take over for Brent Pry, who was fired in September after the Hokies’ 0-3 start.

But as tough as things have gone for the Hokies on the field this year, the Hurricanes know full well what a challenge it will be to take the field at Lane Stadium on Saturday.

Fans will be energized. Players will be looking to make an impression. And there’s enough talent on both sides of the ball for Miami to know it will face a test, especially after last year’s matchup where the Hurricanes had to erase a 10-point deficit to escape with a 38-34 win at Hard Rock Stadium.

That outcome held with Miami and Virginia Tech’s recent history, with the last five meetings between the two all being decided by an average of five points.

“There’s a DNA to that program. They’re always extremely physical, extremely tough and play really, really hard,” Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said of the Hokies. “When you break it down analytically and you really dive into the relative part of the game, they’re a top five rushing offense. They get after you up front and they do it in a lot of different ways and they’ll scheme you up series to series. … I mean, they’ve just got a lot of good players, and their depth has been tested at times with injuries, but they find a way to come out and play at a high level. So, looking forward to, again, a great opportunity against these guys.”

Veteran quarterback Kyron Drones is back for the Hokies and has thrown for 1,717 yards and 16 touchdowns with seven interceptions. He’s also rushed for another 578 yards and nine touchdowns. Marcellous Hawkins has a team-high 677 rushing yards, while Ayden Greene has a team-high 421 receiving yards.

Miami, meanwhile, will look to continue its run of high-level play.

In the Hurricanes’ last two games, Beck has thrown for 538 yards and four touchdowns. Pringle, meanwhile, has totaled 171 rushing yards in those two wins. And Thomas has three interceptions, one of which he returned for a 60-yard touchdown.

Ensuring the Hurricanes keep putting together performances like those will be a priority and Saturday will be their next opportunity to do exactly that.

“We just need to win every single play that we run and just focus on that,” Beck said. “It’s really that simple.”