DATE: Friday, September 27, 2024

WHERE: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL

TIME/TV: 7:30 PM EST/ESPN

LIVE AUDIO: 560 WQAM

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

VIRGINIA TECH: Official Site | Schedule | Roster | Stats | Twitter

The No. 7 ranked Miami Hurricanes (4-0, 0-0 ACC) will face unranked Virginia Tech (2-2, ACC 0-0) for the 41st time in school history. Miami leads the series 25-15.

After a one-year hiatus last season, Miami's third-most-played rivalry returns.

The Hurricanes are on a three-game winning streak. Miami last defeated the Hokies 20-14 on the road and 38-26 at home in the last two contests.

Storylines and Notables

Miami is off to a 4-0 start for the second straight year under Cristobal’s direction.

The Hurricanes finished their nonconference slate with a 50-15 win over USF in Tampa, Fla., on Sept. 21.

Miami QB Cam Ward became the first Hurricanes quarterback in history to open his career with four straight performances of 300 passing yards or more; last time out, Ward threw for 404 yards and three TDs.

Miami is looking to start a season 5-0 for the first time since 2017 it began 10-0.

Miami is opening conference play at home for the third straight year and is 10-10 all-time in ACC openers since joining the conference.

Miami was ranked No. 19 in both preseason polls, but it moved up to No. 7 in the Associated Press poll and No. 9 in the LBM Coaches Poll on Sept. 22.

Ward became the first quarterback in Miami Hurricanes history to throw for 300 yards and three or more touchdowns in his first four starts of the year.

Stats

Miami

Ward is tied for the national lead with four games of 300 yards, encompassing all of 2024. His four-game streak of at least 300 yards and three TDs is the longest since Tyler Van Dyke had six straight such games to end 2021.

Miami’s disruptive defense - which ranked No. 1 in FBS in “mayhem” entering the game - finished with seven tackles for loss, four sacks, and two interceptions. LB Francisco Mauigoa had a team-high 11 stops and one sack.

Ward’s 1,035 yards through the air in his first three games were the second-most in program history over a three-game start to the season, trailing only Craig Erickson’s 1,126 in 1990. He passed Gino Torretta’s 1991 start (989) with 346 in a 62-0 win over Ball State. Ward exited all four games early, with UM sporting substantial leads.

He was the first Miami quarterback to throw for 300 yards and three touchdowns in a season opener since Ken Dorsey did so at Penn State in 2001.

With a six-catch, 99-yard performance vs. USF last time out, WR Xavier Restrepo became the 10th Hurricane in program history to eclipse 2,000 career receiving yards. Over his career, Restrepo has totaled 2,079 yards.

Restrepo needs 54 yards to pass No. 9 Phillip Dorsett (2,132), 68 to pass No. 8 Travis Benjamin (2,146), 80 to pass No. 7 Mike Harley (2,158), and 82 to pass No. 6 Leonard Hankerson (2,160). With 140 more yards, he’d move past Stacy Coley (2,218) into the top 5 in program history.

With his eighth career 100-yard performance, Restrepo tied Andre Johnson for the most games with 100 receiving yards by a Miami player since 2000. He was previously tied with Santana Moss and Dorsett (7 each).

Miami is tied for No. 1 in FBS in plays of 20 or more yards (37) and No. 3 in 10 or more yards (87). Of the 37 plays of 20 or more yards, 30 are passing - most in FBS. Of the 87 plays of 10 or more yards, 67 are passing. The Canes had only 48 passing plays of 20 or more yards and 129 of 10 or more pass yards in 2023.

Tyler Baron, who has started all four games, ranks sixth in the FBS with 7.5 tackles for loss. Baron has 18.0 career sacks - the 13th-highest active career total among all FBS players.

UM is the only program in the country with two players with at least 18.0 career sacks each (Akheem Mesidor, 18.5). The Hurricanes have four players in the top 40 in FBS in career sacks entering Week 5 - DL Simeon Barrow (13.0) and LB Mauigoa (13.0) are tied for 40th in career sacks.

Andy Borregales 61 career field goals are tied for the fourth-most in Miami history with Danny Miller and trail only Michael Badgley (77), Carlos Huerta (73), and Jon Peattie (64).

Among active FBS kickers, Borregales is one of just three in the country who have more than 60 career field goals; he trails only Jonah Dalmas of Boise State (82) and Alex Raynor of Kentucky (62).

Notable Team Stats

Miami ranks No. 35 nationally in passing yards allowed (168.0), No. 13 nationally in passing yards per completion (15.28), No. 2 nationally in passes intercepted (8) and No. 12 in FBS in team passing efficiency defense (90.50).

Miami is the nation’s third down conversion rate leader, capitalizing on 64.3% as an offense.

No quarterback in FBS has thrown for more touchdowns than Ward, who leads the country with 14 TDs.

The Hurricanes rank No. 2 in FBS and No. 1 in the ACC in total offense, averaging 605.0 yards per game.

Miami scored 50 points for the third straight game last time out. The last time the Hurricanes had a season featuring three offensive outputs of at least 50 points was 2001 - when Miami won the national title. Miami had never scored 50 points in three consecutive games before this season.

Virginia Tech

In their last game, the Hokies came from 16 points down to tie the game but eventually fell to Rutgers, 26-23, to remain at 2-2 on the season.

RB Bhayshul Tuten tallied 122 yards on 15 carries against Rutgers, averaging more than eight yards per carry and scoring three times.

The senior has now registered 43 career all-purpose TDs, including 33 rushing scores. Tuten is averaging 97.8 yards per game this year, a 47 percent improvement from his 66.4 mark in 2023.

DL Antwaun Powell-Ryland recorded 1.5 sacks against Rutgers, and is currently the national FBS leader in sacks with 6.0 on the season.

APR tallied four sacks in week three against Old Dominion, the second such game of his career, becoming the second Hokie to have multiple 4+ sack games, joining Hall of Famer Bruce Smith.

Sophomore LB Caleb Woodson is the team’s third leading tackler with 21 on the season, nearing his season total of 22 in 2023.

He has 3.5 TFLs, including a sack to go along with a quarterback hurry.

CB Mansoor Delane had interceptions in back-to-back weeks against Marshall and Old Dominion and now has four picks in his career.

Sophomore DB Mose Phillips leads the team in tackles with 29 (12 solo), following an 11-tackle effort against Rutgers. Phillips has also tallied a sack and two pass breakups this season.

Notable Team Stats

The Hokies are tied for 10th in the country with 13 sacks through four games

Stats are as of September 26, 2023

Miami Athletics and Virginia Tech Athletics contributed to this report.

Line: Miami - 17.5

Over/Under: 56.5

Weather: 80 Degrees, 65 percent chance of rain

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