DATE: Saturday, November 18, 2023

WHERE: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL

TIME/TV: NOON EST/ABC

LIVE AUDIO: 560 WQAM

MIAMI: Official Site | Schedule | Roster | Stats | Twitter

LOUISVILLE: Official Site | Schedule | Roster | Stats | Twitter

The unranked Miami Hurricanes (6-4, 2-4 ACC) lead the all-time series with the number ten ranked team in the country, the Louisville Cardinals (9-1, 6-1 ACC), 11-3-1.

The last meeting between the two schools came in 2020 when Miami emerged victorious in Louisville by a score of 47-34.

In week twelve, the Hurricanes remain outside the AP and Coaches Poll after its 27-20 loss to Florida State last week. Louisville, ranked 10th in the College Football Playoff poll, can punch its ticket to the ACC Championship Game with a win over Miami. If the Cardinals lose, North Carolina or Virginia Tech can sneak into the championship game if either team wins out.

Series History

Miami is on a two-game winning streak against the Cardinals but was on a three-game losing streak before the last two wins.

The Cardinals have never beaten the Hurricanes in Miami. Louisville last beat Miami in 2014 by a score of 31-13.

Louisville and Miami will compete for a newly created trophy unique to college football – The Schnellenberger Trophy, which features the actual western dress boots, now bronzed, worn by Coach Howard Schnellenberger when he led both programs to national prominence.

Schnellenberger led Miami to its first national championship during the 1983 season. Schnellenberger later became Louisville’s head coach in 1985 and, in 1990, led the Cardinals to a 10-1-1 record and Fiesta Bowl win over nationally ranked Alabama.

Stats

Miami

Updated:

The Canes bring the 19th-best defense in the country, allowing just 312.5 yards per game, and the sixth-best rushing defense at 86.0 yards per game.

Wide receiver Xavier Restrepo has caught 60 passes for 683 yards and four touchdowns, while Jacolby George is second with 46 catches for 707 yards and seven touchdowns.

George was recognized as ACC Receiver of the Week after another impressive performance, this time vs. Florida State on November 11.

He totaled a career-best 153 yards in the loss against the rival Seminoles, finishing with five catches and two touchdowns at Doak Campbell Stadium.

George became the third Hurricane this century to record at least 150 receiving yards and multiple receiving touchdowns on five or fewer receptions in a game, joining Phillip Dorsett (2014 vs. Arkansas State) and Santana Moss (2000 vs. Virginia Tech).

Miami is one of just 11 teams in FBS to have started the same five players on the offensive line in all of its games this season; the Hurricanes are the only such team in the ACC.

Francisco Mauigoa and Rueben Bain lead the defense with 6.5 sacks. Kamren Kinchens is first on the team with four interceptions.

Mauigoa ranks No. 7 in the nation and No. 1 in the ACC with an average of 1.5 tackles for loss per contest this year; he leads the Hurricanes with 15 tackles for loss this season.

Bain is second on the team in tackles for loss (8.5) and has totaled 32 tackles, which is tops among defensive linemen.

Kinchens became only the 12th player in Miami Football history to reach double-digit interceptions for a career when he recorded a pick in Miami's 20-6 loss at NC State in Raleigh on Nov. 4. Kinchens is the first Hurricane since the iconic Sean Taylor (2001-03) to record at least ten picks in a career.

The Canes have allowed only three teams to rush for over 100 yards, including North Carolina, which rushed for 235 yards. NC State and Virginia also ran for over 100 yards, rushing 108 and 138, respectively.

Against FSU, the Hurricanes managed their fifth occurrence of allowing 60 or fewer net rushing yards in 2023 - tied for the most such games in the FBS this season, along with only two other teams: Air Force and Nebraska.

Last week against Florida State, Miami’s defense racked up three sacks and nine tackles for loss, holding the Seminoles 136 yards below their season average. Mauigoa and safety James Williams led the team with nine tackles, and Mauigoa had two sacks.

Kinchens added six stops, and linebacker Wesley Bissainthe recorded five tackles, including three TFLs.

Emory Williams, the first UM true freshman quarterback to start against FSU since Brad Kaaya in 2014, threw for 175 yards and two touchdowns – both to wide receiver George, who had a career day with five receptions for 153 yards. Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, who had started eight games this year, came in for an injured Williams late in the game.

Running backs Don Chaney, Jr. and Mark Fletcher, Jr. combined for 132 yards, with Chaney averaging 7.1 yards per carry.

Fletcher, Jr. rushed for a career-best 115 yards in the first start of his Miami career at NC State; it marked the first 100-yard game by a true freshman running back at Miami since Joe Yearby did so in 2014 vs. North Carolina (104 yards).

Though he has only had 16 returns in his ten games, WR Brashard Smith has made them count, ranking third in the nation in kickoff return average, averaging 31.1 yards per return so far this year. Smith's 98-yard kickoff TD vs. Texas A&M was his first return for a career touchdown.

Andy Borregales is one of 23 kickers in FBS with a 85%-or-better success rate this year - he is 18th in FBS (86.4) in the category. He is one of only nine kickers in the country with at least 19 made field goals.

Louisville

Louisville raised its record to 9-1 and 6-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference after a 31-24 win over Virginia — the school’s 11th-straight home win tied for the second most consecutive wins in school history. Louisville won its sixth-straight home game in a season for the eighth time in school history and the first since going 6-0 during the 2013 campaign.

Louisville came from behind for the third time this season, the fifth time in school history to accomplish such a feat, and the first since 2014. Louisville battled back from a 28-13 halftime deficit to win 39-34 over Georgia Tech. Louisville trailed 10-0 in the third quarter to win 13-10 in Raleigh.

Louisville has four sacks to log its third straight and fifth game in the last seven with at least four sacks.

Louisville is 1-1 in true road games this season, coming back to defeat NC State 13-10 on Sept. 29 and dropping a 38-21 decision to Pitt on Oct. 14.

Defensive lineman Ashton Gillotte recorded 1.5 sacks in the win over Virginia, giving him ten on the season. He has recorded nine sacks at home and just one in road games. The junior from Boca Raton, Fla., is the first player with ten sacks since Yasir Abdullah (also a South Florida native) had ten in 2021.

Jawhar Jordan needs 24 yards to record the 23rd 1,000-yard rushing season and the first since Malik Cunningham in 2021. Jordan would be the first running back to record a 1,000-yard season since Javian Hawkins in 2019.

The Cardinals are 16th in the nation in total defense, allowing just 300.1 yards per game, and have held five of the last opponents to less than 300 yards of offense.

The Cards are ranked 24th nationally in allowing 4.9 yards per play after holding Virginia Tech to an average of just 2.75 yards per play. The Hokies had one run of over 15 yards and zero pass plays of over 20 yards.

The Cards have allowed just 39 plays of 20 or more yards.

Allowing 300.1 yards per game, the Cardinals are trying to become the first defense to finish the season by allowing less than 300 yards since 2013, when the Cards permitted an average of 251.5 yards per game.

The Cards have held five of six opponents under 100 rushing yards after Virginia broke the string by running for 120 yards. The Hokies were held to 68 yards, and Duke, which entered the game 18th nationally in rushing at 198.2 yards per game, was limited to an average of 2.4 yards per carry.

In the last three games, the Cardinals allowed 179.0 yards passing, 79.67 yards rushing, 14 first downs, and nine points per game.

Louisville has also totaled 12 sacks, 23 tackles for loss, and three turnovers, allowing two touchdowns in the last 12 quarters.

Louisville ranks 20th in the country in time of possession, controlling the ball for an average of 31:54 per game.

Louisville has won the time of possession in seven of ten games this season.

The Cards have rushed for over 200 yards in four games this year and are 7-0 over the last two seasons when hitting that number.

After turning the football over three times in a loss to Pitt, the Cardinals have one turnover in their last three conference wins. Louisville is +9 in their nine wins this season.

Last week against Virginia, running back Isaac Guerendo rushed for 94 yards on six carries, scoring on a career-long 73-yard run. He added a 21-yard reception. Jordan rushed for 95 yards on 17 carries, including a 42-yard run to the Virginia 10-yard line to set up Louisville’s first touchdown. He added two receptions for 15 yards.

Wide receiver Jamari Thrash, the Georgia State transfer, has 49 receptions, 734 yards, and six touchdowns in nine games. He needs 266 yards to become the eighth wide receiver to record 1,000 yards in a season.

Louisville ranks 16th nationally in yards per play, averaging 6.7 yards per play this season. The Cards have 54 plays of over 20 yards this season, the 28th-best mark in the country. In plays of 30 or more yards, the Cards have 33, tied for the eighth-most nationally, and are 24th with 16 of over 40 yards.

Louisville is the only team with six plays of 70 or more yards.

The Cardinals continue to be one of the top teams in the country in forcing turnovers after forcing two turnovers in the win over Virginia. Louisville has caused at least one turnover in three straight games and one in every game but two.

Stats are as of November 16, 2023

Louisville Athletics and Miami Athletics contributed to this report.

Line: Miami -1

Over/Under: 46.5

Weather: 79 Degrees with partly cloudy skies

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