LOUISVILLE - Once Cam Ward gets going, he is hard to stop. The Miami Hurricanes (7-0, 2-0 ACC) got the best version of their senior starting quarterback as he led them to a thrilling 52-45 road win over the Louisville Cardinals on Saturday. He finished the game by completing 21 of 32 passes for 319 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions.

A bruising 30-yard touchdown run by junior running back Damien Martinez (12 carries, 89 yards) would enable Miami to extend its lead to 52-38 with 4:05 left. The Canes were able to hold on after the Cardinals scored for the last time with 54 seconds. An onside kick recovery ended any chance of a comeback for Louisville.

The Hurricanes gained 538 total yards, 219 of which came on the ground. The nation’s sixth-ranked team had 27 first downs and went 9-for-15 on third downs, which proved critical in this game.

Early in the first quarter, Miami used a 12-play, 34-yard drive that took more than five minutes off the clock. It resulted in a 55-yard field goal by senior kicker Andres Borregales, giving the Canes a 3-0 lead at the 8:34 mark. Louisville quickly answered back, as it needed only three plays for 68 yards to score. It was a 43-yard run to the end zone by freshman running back Isaac Brown, an alum of Homestead High School in South Florida. The Cardinals led 7-3 lead over the Canes.

Ward’s first touchdown pass went for 27 yards to senior wide receiver Jacolby George (three receptions, 43 yards, one touchdown). The highlight play saw Ward buy plenty of time to find George in the end zone. It capped a five-play, 70-yard drive that took slightly over two minutes.

Miami retook the lead 10-7 with 5:05 left in the first quarter. After Miami forced Louisville to punt, Ward went to work and engineered a four-play, 79-yard drive that ended with a 49-yard touchdown catch from junior wide receiver Sam Brown (three catches, 125 yards, one touchdown). Miami extended its lead to 17-7 over Louisville at the 14:32 mark of the second quarter.

Louisville was not deterred by what transpired. Senior quarterback Tyler Shough led his team to a nine-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Mark Redman. Miami's lead was cut to 17-14 with 10:32 left in the first half.

The next drive for Miami would end with a punt by sophomore Dylan Joyce, who got the ball in the air for 51 yards. As Louisville senior Caullin Lacy returned the punt for 21 yards to his team’s 30-yard line, an offensive holding penalty would wipe the play out and set the home team back to its own 3-yard line. With 5:01 left in the second quarter, Brown lost a fumble on the first down play, as sophomore defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr. got his hand on the ball and senior defensive lineman Simeon Barrow Jr. got involved in the play as well. The ball popped right out of Brown’s hands and was scooped up right in the end zone by sophomore linebacker Raul Aguirre Jr. This would be Miami’s first fumble recovery of the season, which just happened to be for a touchdown.

Miami took a 24-14 lead over Louisville. The first half would end with a 22-yard field goal by Brock Travelstead as time expired, with Louisville cutting Miami’s lead to 24-17.

On the first drive of the second half, Canes senior wide receiver Xavier Restrepo capped a 14-play, 75-yard possession with his 9-yard diving touchdown reception from Ward. His scoring catch - plus another extra point by Borregales - occurred with 8:21 left in the third quarter as Miami would take a 31-17 lead over Louisville.

With the touchdown reception, Restrepo moved into a tie for second all-time with Stacy Coley in career receptions (168). After Borregales (7-for-7 in extra points; 1-for-1 in field goal attempts) kicked the ball off for 65 yards, Lacy caught the ball from the end zone and ran off a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

Miami’s lead was cut to 31-24 with 8:06 left in the third quarter. Miami’s next possession ended in a lost fumble by running back Mark Fletcher, which would be forced by senior defensive lineman Thor Griffith and recovered by senior defensive lineman Jordan Guerad as Louisville got itself an excellent opportunity to score with 7:58 left. A three-play, 26-yard drive would quickly end with a 21-yard touchdown pass from Shough to senior wide receiver and Miami native Ja’Corey Brooks. The game was tied at 31-31 with 6:59 left in the third quarter.

On the next Miami possession, Ward engineered a six-play, 75-yard drive highlighted by his sideline throw to Restrepo (seven receptions, 101 yards, one touchdown). Ward’s perfectly placed pass connected with the wideout, who ran it down to the Louisville 2-yard line.

On the next play, Ward found sophomore wide receiver Isaiah Horton for a 2-yard touchdown pass. After an extra point by Borregales, Miami took the lead back from Louisville at 38-31 with 3:19 left in the third quarter.

Louisville (4-3; 2-2 in ACC) would tie the game at 38-38 early in the fourth quarter with a 4-yard touchdown pass to freshman running back Duke Watson.

The game's next score came from Miami, as the Hurricanes used a five-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Ajay Allen. An extra point by Borregales gave Miami a 45-38 lead with 11:17 left.

After a Louisville punt, Miami would ice this game by using an 11-play, 80-yard line that took more than six minutes off the clock. A 4-yard touchdown pass from Shough (31-for-51, 342 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions) to Brooks (six receptions, 107 yards, two touchdowns) and an extra point by Travelstead (6-for-6 in extra points; 1-for-2 in field goal attempts).

With the road victory, Miami would come out on top after a bye for the first time since Dec. 5, 2020, when it went on the road to handle Duke in a 48-0 win.

Miami will host arch-rival Florida State in its next game.

Louisville will travel to Boston College for a Friday night tilt this week.

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