Canes Rewind: A Look Back at the Win over Virginia Tech
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Each week this season, we’ll take a look at the game that was for the Hurricanes.
Here are some key storylines, numbers of note, and quotes from Miami’s 34-17 win over Virginia Tech on Saturday afternoon at Lane Stadium.
After the win, Miami improved to 9-2 overall and 5-2 in the ACC. The Hurricanes also rose one spot to No. 13 the AP Top 25 poll that was released Sunday. Virginia Tech, meanwhile, fell to 3-8 overall and 2-5 in conference play.
The Recap
For the Hurricanes, the mantra all season long has been to focus on going 1-0 every week.
Given all the conversations happening outside the Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility as the postseason approaches, staying focused has become even more essential.
And so, Miami’s players and coaches made it clear their goals this week were simple: get better in practice, go to Blacksburg and come home with a win over Virginia Tech.
Mission accomplished.
The Hurricanes set the tone quickly against the Hokies, taking the game’s opening possession and marching down the field on a masterful 8-play, 75-yard drive that gave Miami a quick 7-0 lead after quarterback Carson Beck connected with Elija Lofton on a 20-yard scoring play.
On that drive, Beck completed passes to both Lofton and Keelan Marion, while freshman Girard Pringle – who made his second start of the year – had multiple carries.
Virginia Tech answered with a scoring drive of its own – but the Hokies had to settle for a 30-yard field goal from John Love, and those three points would be all Virginia Tech would get for the rest of the first half.
Miami, meanwhile, found ways to keep scoring.
Mark Fletcher Jr., who returned to action after missing two games with an injury, capped a 14-play, 75-yard drive when he caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Beck early in the second quarter.
Later in the quarter, Carter Davis converted on a pair of field goals – one from 46 yards out, the other from 40 – to help the Hurricanes build a 20-3 halftime lead.
The Hokies cut into that on their first possession of the second half when Jeffrey Overton broke through the Miami defense to score on a 38-yard touchdown run.
Miami immediately answered, scoring on its next drive when Beck completed a 16-yard touchdown pass to Pringle.
It was one of Beck’s four touchdown passes on the day.
While the Hurricanes took a 17-point lead into the fourth quarter, Virginia Tech worked to put together a late rally.
With 3:21 left, the Hokies capped an 8-play, 92-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run from William Watson III that cut Miami’s lead to 27-17 – and set up an onside kick attempt.
The Hokies recovered the ball, but ultimately lost possession five plays later when Akheem Mesidor forced a fumble that was recovered by Zechariah Poyser with 2:06 left.
Miami then turned that takeaway into points when Beck connected with Malachi Toney on a 20-yard touchdown pass with 20 seconds left.
The play not only capped the scoring but generated appreciative cheers from the Hurricanes fans who made their way to Blacksburg and ultimately, had the chance to celebrate a road win with their team.
“Strange game in terms of the number of possessions. I believe we only had eight, scored on six of them and a lot of really, really good stuff and some stuff to clean up as well,” Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said. “But proud of our guys coming out here today without [some of] our frontline players. … Proud of our guys, came out and get it done.”
Numbers to Know
24 – Stretch of straight completions thrown by Beck during last week’s win over NC State and Saturday’s win over Virginia Tech. That was a new personal best for the quarterback and a new school record for Miami. Against the Hokies, Beck completed 27 of 32 passes and threw for 320 yards and four touchdowns.
169 – All-purpose yards for Toney, who continues his stellar play for the Hurricanes. The freshman had 146 receiving yards, 16 rushing yards, and seven yards on punt returns. He also completed a 15-yard pass to Keelan Marion.
5 – Sacks totaled by the Miami defense. Ahmad Moten had two, while Zechariah Poyser, Akeem Mesidor, and Justin Scott each had one. The Hurricanes also totaled nine tackles for loss against the Hokies.
24 – Points the Hurricanes have scored off the turnovers they’ve forced during their three-game win streak. Against Virginia Tech, Miami forced a fumble and went on to score a late touchdown.
5 – Consecutive wins for Miami over Virginia Tech.
Quotable
“We’re playing ball. We’re not slowing down because whether some people call it style points and all that other stuff, we’re just playing ball and trying to make our team better and staying aggressive. When we call it aggressive, our players, they play aggressive. … I think it’s really important to state that for anyone who’s ever played the game or coached the game, people throw around the word ‘eye test,’ well, how about the field test, where head-to-head matters? That’s what football’s always been about, on the field, finding a way to get it done. I’m proud of our guys today and looking forward to playing a great Pittsburgh team next week on the road. Great opportunity for our program.”
– Head coach Mario Cristobal, on Miami’s late touchdown against Virginia Tech
“I love the way [offensive coordinator Shannon] Dawson schemes things up. [He] gives me different opportunities to catch the ball, hand the ball [off], sometimes, maybe pass the ball. Just giving me the opportunity…”
– Wide receiver Malachi Toney, on the way he’s being utilized in different ways for the Miami offense
“We’re just on the same page. And again, that takes hours and hours of work and conversation and meetings and film, and all these different things that go on behind the scenes that not everybody sees. Obviously, everyone sees Saturday, but they don’t see all the work that kind of goes into it throughout the week and obviously, it’s a bunch of accumulated reps and reps and reps and me and him individually walking through stuff, talking through things. The chemistry kind of clicked from day one, to be honest with you. But now that we’ve been able to play, what, 11 games now together, plus however many practices we’ve practiced together, we’re kind of kind of one within every single play. I know what he’s going to do every time, he knows what I want him to do and it’s been really, really fun playing with him.”
– Quarterback Carson Beck, on playing with freshman Malachi Toney
“We had a meeting [after] SMU. We had a meeting and we got back to the drawing board. It’s all about us. We’ve got to control what we can and can’t look ahead. We’ve got to dominate the day. It starts in practice. We’ve been dominating practice for the last three weeks. So, I mean, practice has been great and it shows up in the game.”
– Safety Zechariah Poyser, on the strong play of the defense over the last three weeks
“I think it’s twofold. I think it bodes well for us right now because they’re playing at a high level and certainly, if you’re a player out there, a recruit, you’re saying, ‘Man, these guys have some legitimate real-deal dudes that are young and are making plays.’ It’s exciting for the now and it’s exciting for the future of Miami Hurricanes football. We’re going to push those guys hard, but there’s nothing on the game plan that they can’t run. They’re very well coached. They’re very proactive in their approach to the game and certainly looking forward to them continuing to evolve, grow, and eventually, be able to lead us.”
– Cristobal, on the contributions of freshmen Malachi Toney, Girard Pringle III, and Daylyn Upshaw this season
Up Next
After 11 games, the Hurricanes are set to close out the regular season next week at Pittsburgh in a high-stakes matchup that could go a long way in determining their postseason fate.
The Panthers, ranked No. 24 in Sunday’s AP Top 25 poll, are coming off a 42-28 upset of then-No. 15 Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Saturday.
In that win, freshman Ja’Kyrian Turner rushed for 201 yards, junior linebacker Braylan Lovelace returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown and freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel completed 20 of 27 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns.
Both the Hurricanes and Panthers are jockeying for postseason positioning and need wins to keep their hopes of playing in the ACC Championship Game alive.
Miami has won four of its last five against the Panthers, though Pittsburgh did win the last meeting in 2022. The Hurricanes did, however, win the last matchup in Pittsburgh in 2021.
