DATE: Saturday, November 23, 2024
WHERE: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL,
TIME/TV: Noon EST/ESPN
LIVE AUDIO: 560 WQAM
MIAMI: Official Site | Schedule | Roster | Stats | Twitter
WAKE FOREST: Official Site | Schedule | Roster | Stats | Twitter
The No. 8 ranked Miami Hurricanes (9-1, 5-1 ACC) will host Wake Forest (4-6, ACC 2-4) for the 12th time in school history. Miami leads the series 8-3.
The Hurricanes are on a seven-game winning streak against the Demon Deacons, with Miami emerging victorious in the last matchup in 2013, 24-21.
Wake last beat Miami in 1944.
Storylines and Notables
Miami is off to a 9-1 start for the first time under Mario Cristobal. The Hurricanes had an open date last week (Nov. 16) but fell to Georgia Tech in their most recent game, 28-23, for their first loss on Nov. 9.
Miami will wear “DB #40” decals on their helmets to honor College Football Hall of Famer Don Bosseler, who passed away on Nov. 6.
Saturday’s game against the Demon Deacons also represents Senior Day; 25 Hurricane student-athletes will be honored during pregame ceremonies.
Miami wants to continue its impressive 2024 campaign when it hosts Wake Forest on Senior Day, Saturday, November 23.
During pregame festivities, 27 Hurricanes will be honored, including quarterback Cam Ward, wide receiver Xavier Restrepo, offensive lineman Jalen Rivers, and LB Francisco Mauigoa.
Miami is looking to post ten wins in a season for the first time since 2017 when the Hurricanes finished 10-3.
Following an open date last time out, Miami moved up two spots to No. 10 (from No. 12) in the LBM Coaches Poll and up one spot to No. 11 (from No. 10) in the Associated Press top 25 rankings released on Nov. 17.
The Hurricanes checked in at No. 4 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings on Nov. 5, projected as the No. 3 seed as the winner of the Atlantic Coast Conference, and UM dropped to No. 9 in the Nov. 12 CFP rankings (No. 3 seed).
Stats
Miami
No quarterback in FBS has thrown for more touchdowns than Cam Ward, who ranks first in the nation with 32 TDs.
Ward (32) now has more touchdown passes than any quarterback in Miami in an single season, surpassing Steve Walsh’s previous UM standard of 29, set in 1988. A fifth-year senior, Ward (17,022) moved past Landry Fields (16,646) for fifth on the NCAA’s all-time, all-division passing yards list in Miami’s win over Duke.
Ward was named a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award, which honors the nation’s top offensive player, and a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Award, which honors the nation’s top quarterback.
With an eight-catch, 146-yard performance vs. Duke on Nov. 2, WR Xavier Restrepo passed Reggie Wayne (2,510) and Santana Moss (2,547) for the most receiving yards in Miami history. He now has 2,651 career yards.
With four catches against Georgia Tech on Nov. 9, Restrepo also moved past Mike Harley (182) for the most catches in program history. He now has 186 career receptions - including a team-high 55 receptions this year.
He is a Biletnikoff Award candidate, and he was named the nation's best wide receiver.
Andy Borregales is alone in third in FBS among active kickers in career field goals with 69.
Borregales had five points vs. Georgia Tech (one field goal, three extra points), moving him to 376 career points. Borregales currently trails only Carlos Huerta (397) & Michael Badgley (403) in career points, ranking third at UM.
Borregales' 69 career field goals are third-most in Miami history, trailing only Michael Badgley (77) and Carlos Huerta (73).
Among active FBS kickers, Borregales is one of just four in the country with more than 65 career field goals, joining Jonah Dalmas (Boise State—90), Alex Raynor (Kentucky—70), and John Hoyland (Wyoming—68).
Notable Team Stats
Miami is the nation’s third down conversion rate leader, capitalizing on 56.5% as an offense.
The Hurricanes rank No. 1 in all of FBS in total offense, averaging 544.8 yards per game.
Miami is ranked No. 1 in FBS in plays of 20 or more yards (79) and No. 1 in 10 or more yards (199). Of the 79 plays of 20 or more yards, 64 are passing - most in FBS. Of the 199 plays of 10 or more yards, 143 are passing - also the most in FBS. UM had only 48 passing plays of 20 or more and 129 of 10 or more yards in 2023.
Miami is No. 1 in FBS in games of 500 or more yards (8), ahead of North Texas (6), Clemson (5) & Ole Miss (5).
Miami is ranked No. 1 in FBS in scoring differential in second halves; UM’s +15.70 scoring difference is ahead of Indiana (+14.70), Ohio State (14.20), Notre Dame (+11.80) and Penn State (11.70) entering Week 13 of 2024.
Entering Week 11, the Hurricanes rank No. 17 in the nation in “defensive mayhem” - plays on defense featuring a tackle for loss, an interception, or a gained fumble. Miami has a 13.38% mayhem rate on defense; the Hurricanes have racked up a 7.63% sack rate, a 10.93% tackle-for-loss rate, and a 3.98% interception rate in their 9-1 start.
Against FBS competition, Miami’s offense has gone three-and-out on just 4.76% of drives this season, ranking as the country's best mark. Only one other team in the nation has a three-and-out percentage of less than 10% on offense - No. 1 Miami (4.76%) and No. 2 LSU (7.84%). The Hurricanes average 3.20 points per possession - the best in FBS - and average 1.58 plays per point, the second-most efficient FBS mark (Indiana, 1.50).
Miami ranks in the top 25 of both total offense (#1) and total defense (#21) entering Week 13 of college football. In addition to the national ranking, the Canes rank first in the ACC in both categories - total offense & total defense.
Miami is one of just eight teams whose average time of possession is more than 33 minutes per game—33:09, the eighth-highest mark in FBS.
In the “middle eight” rankings—which track the scoring in the final four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half, considered a critical juncture—UM was No. 16 under Mario Cristobal in 2022-2023.
Miami has remained strong this year; UM is No. 32 in FBS and No. 3 in ACC in middle eight this year (+2.3). From 2014 to 2019, teams that won the “middle eight” minutes of the game at the FBS level won 74% of the time.
The Hurricanes eclipsed the 50-point mark for the fourth time at Louisville - the first year Miami has ever posted four-game performances in a single season in Miami history. They made it five games with a 52-31 win over Duke.
UM is the only program in the country with two players with at least 18.0 career sacks each (Akheem Mesidor, 21.0). The Hurricanes have three players in the top 40 in FBS in career sacks entering Week 11 - DL Simeon Barrow with 16.0 sacks. His streak of three straight games with at least one sack ended in Miami’s win over Duke.
The Hurricanes score points on 59.05% of their offensive possessions, the best mark in the nation. Miami scores touchdowns on 47.62% of possessions, the second-best mark in all of FBS (Army leads at 48.05% in TD rate).
Miami’s 4.76% three-and-out percentage on offense is by far the best mark in the nation.
The nation's lowest mark is the Hurricanes’ 17.14% punt percentage on all offensive drives.
The Hurricanes’ 3.20 points-per-possession average is the best mark in the country.
Wake Forest
Throughout his career, quarterback Hank Bachmeier has been one of the most consistent quarterbacks in the country. He has accumulated 10,963 career passing yards in his six seasons playing, which would rank second all-time in Wake Forest history. Additionally, among active quarterbacks in the country, his career yards rank seventh in FBS.
Additionally, in 48 career games played, Bachmeier has thrown for 65 career passing touchdowns, which would rank second in Wake Forest program history, and currently ranks 14th among active FBS quarterbacks and 11th among Power-4 quarterbacks.
Demond Claiborne produced another standout performance as he tallied 123 all-purpose yards, including 95 yards rushing on 20 carries. The Aylett, Va. native hauled in three receptions for 28 receiving yards.
This marked the 11th time in the last 18 games that he has gone for 100 or more all-purpose yards:
Defensive end Jasheen Davis has now recorded at least 0.5 tackles-for-loss in 28 of his last 30 games.
Over his last 25 games dating back to last season, Davis has collected 38.0 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks.
Through nine games this season, defensive back Nick Andersen has been one of the best tacklers in the country and leads the Demon Deacons with 105 total tackles (10.50), which is 23 more than the next closest player on the team. Andersen is one of just eight players nationally with 100 or more tackles this season.
In addition to leading the team in this category, Andersen is the ACC leader, with the next closest player totaling 97 tackles this season. Andersen’s 10.50 tackles per game also rank sixth nationally.
Notable Team Stats
With the road wins over Stanford, UConn, and NC State earlier this season, Wake Forest matches the 3-0 road starts of the 2021, 2006, 1947, 1946, and 1944 seasons.
Not counting the 2020 COVID season, the Deacs have had the fifth-highest overall win total in the ACC since 2016, trailing only Clemson, NC State, and Miami.
Wake Forest’s 111 passing touchdowns since the start of the 2021 season rank 11th nationally and second in the ACC.
The Deacs 54 All-ACC honors are tied for the sixth most overall in the ACC since the 2019 season. The Deacs have had six or more players in the last seven seasons.
The 2024 season has started similarly, as Wake Forest ranks 30th nationally in the fewest penalties (53) and fifth in the ACC.
Stats are as of November 22, 2024
Miami Athletics and Wake Forest Athletics contributed to this report.
Line: Miami - 24
Over/Under: 67.5
Weather: 69 Degrees, 0 percent chance of rain
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