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Friedlander: While other frontrunners are sinking, Miami emerges from The Swamp as the new ACC favorite
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Somehow it’s appropriate that on a day in which some of the ACC’s best teams stunk up the field in big spots against SEC opponents, the one that salvaged at least a shred of credibility for the conference did so at a stadium nicknamed The Swamp.
Miami didn’t need Clemson to go down in flames against Georgia and Virginia Tech to lay a giant Hokie egg against Vanderbilt to make a statement Saturday.
Those results earlier in the day only served to amplify the statement the Hurricanes did make in putting a 41-17 hurting on in-state rival Florida.
Sure, the Gators are a flawed team with a coach who probably won’t make it through the season. It’s a virtual certainty the haters will point out both facts in downplaying Miami’s impressive opening game performance.
But the competition and the circumstances are little more than shiny objects to distract from the most significant takeaway from Saturday’s game.
This much was obvious to the naked eye regardless of the opponent: The Hurricanes are loaded.
On offense. On defense.
Even more than usual.
It should be noted, of course, that that talent alone doesn’t win championships. Miami has been Exhibit A through Z on that since joining the ACC in 2004. There are still 11 more regular-season games to play and Mario Cristobal, with his not-so-elite game management acumen, is still the coach.
And yet even with the small sample size of a Week 1 victory to judge, it’s clear that the hype surrounding these Hurricanes is justified.
There’s a chance they’ll be the highest-rated ACC team when the next rankings come out on Tuesday after starting the season at No. 19. They’re already the league’s best hope to save face nationally and do more than just fill out the bracket in the newly expanded 12-team Playoff.
https://twitter.com/Hayesfawcett3/status/1830003381236097254
Cam Ward didn’t waste any time showing why he was the pearl of this year’s portal class by leading his team on a methodical 11-play, 84-yard touchdown drive the first time The U touched the ball. The Washington State transfer kicked off his Heisman campaign by completing 74% of his 35 passes for 385 yards and 3 touchdowns.
It’s no wonder why another Sunshine State rival, Florida State, tried so hard to get Ward before having to settle for consolation prize DJ Uiagalelei.
He’s special.
Ward is the high roller everyone stops to stare at when he struts into the casino. And who the manager lavishes with perks when he hits it big at the card table.
In this case, those perks aren’t free drinks and a comped suite. They’re the embarrassment of riches with which Cristobal and his staff have surrounded him.
He spread his 26 completions among 10 receivers ranging from All-ACC wideout Xavier Restrepo (7 catches, 112 yards, 1 touchdown) to 9th-year tight end Cam McCormick, who caught a 9-yard pass for the season’s first score. (And yes, this is his 9th season of college football.)
The Hurricanes finished with 529 total yards and more than 34 minutes of possession time, numbers that easily could have been bigger had they not taken their foot off the accelerator and coasted home in the 4th quarter.
They were just as dominant on defense in recording 3 sacks and forcing a pair of turnovers – 1 of them coming on an interception by sophomore safety Jaden Harris, who acquitted himself well at the 1 position that was thought to be a weakness because of the departure of NFL Draft picks Kam Kinchens and James Williams.
Harris also led Miami with 7 tackles, a half-sack and a pass breakup.
JADEN HARRIS SACK pic.twitter.com/ePF6RZmG4g
— NMD Grant (@NMDgrant) August 31, 2024
But beyond all the eye candy, the most impressive aspect of the Gator taming was the performance in the trenches.
While Florida State got manhandled on both lines of scrimmage by Georgia Tech in Week 0 and Clemson struggled to keep Georgia out of its backfield on Saturday, the Hurricanes showed they have the physicality to more than hold their own against SEC talent.
They dominated Florida up front. And they didn’t need a new nutritionist to do it.
About the only thing that didn’t go right for Miami was an injury to star defensive end Rueben Bain, who didn’t play again after the game’s opening series.
While the nature and severity of the issue are not yet known, there’s no need to rush him back. The Hurricanes’ next 3 games are against Florida A&M, Ball State and South Florida. And with a suddenly vulnerable Virginia Tech and Cal to begin the ACC schedule after that, they might not be seriously challenged until they go to Louisville on Oct. 19.
With no Clemson and no NC State on the regular-season schedule and Florida State at home, it’s not out of the question to think that Miami has the potential to do what the Seminoles did a year ago and run the table.
It has the talent to pull it off.
Now all Cristobal has to do is stay out of the way and not mess it up.
Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.
