TAMPA, FL— The Miami Hurricanes expected a challenge against the South Florida Bulls on Saturday night (Sept. 21).
It was a challenge for the first half.
Canes senior quarterback Cam Ward took the Bulls seriously and used his years of collegiate experience to put forth another fantastic effort on the field. He overcame a slow start and an early interception to lead the Canes to a 50-15 road win at Raymond James Stadium. Ward surpassed 15,000 career yards with his performance.
With the 35-point margin of victory, No. 8 Miami improved to 4-0 and ended non-conference play with a perfect record. After being down 15-14 to the Bulls with 2:36 left in the second quarter, it was all Canes from then on. They scored 36 unanswered points the rest of the way, including touchdowns on three straight possessions in the second half to take down the Bulls (2-2).
Ward completed 24-of-34 passes with 404 yards and three touchdowns to improve his Heisman campaign. He distributed the ball to nine pass catchers, using wide receivers, running backs, and tight ends.
Canes sophomore wide receiver Isaiah Horton led the team with eight receptions for 108 yards and a touchdown. In contrast, senior wide receiver Xavier Restrepo added six catches for 99 yards and a 5-yard touchdown catch from Ward with 7:44 left in the fourth quarter.
As for the running backs, freshman Jordan Lyle had the game’s longest play: a 91-yard touchdown run with 3:09 left in the fourth quarter. Lyle finished with six carries for a team-high 104 yards and one touchdown, while junior Damien Martinez had a team-high 11 carries for 31 yards and a team-high three rushing touchdowns.
Martinez had a 2-yard touchdown run in the first half and had two 1-yard touchdown runs in the second half. As a whole, Miami’s offense gained 574 total yards while recording 27 first downs and going 7-for-10 on third downs for an astounding 70 percent conversion rate.
On the defensive side of the ball, senior linebacker Francisco "Kiko" Mauigoa led the team with 11 tackles, one tackle for loss, and one sack. In comparison, senior defensive back Mishael Powell added nine tackles, one tackle for loss, and one interception.
As a whole, Miami’s defense allowed 365 yards and held USF to 22 first downs and a 41 percent conversion rate on third downs (7-for-17).
For the game’s opening drive, Miami scored by way of Martinez’s 2-yard scoring run at the 11:30 mark. The extra point by kicker Andy Borregales (6-for-6 in PATs for the night) gave the Canes a 7-0 lead over the Bulls. Miami’s first scoring drive was for seven plays and 75 yards. Miami was aided by three penalties committed by USF on three consecutive plays. One - an offside penalty on USF - came after Martinez caught a 14-yard pass from Ward from the Miami 42-yard line to the USF 44-yard line. This was preceded by two more penalties on USF and one on Miami, eventually getting Miami to the USF 2-yard line. USF would cut the deficit from 7-0 to 7-3 after it used an eight-play, 35-yard drive to get a 58-yard field goal from freshman kicker Nico Gramatica at the 8:28 mark.
On the next Miami drive, Ward threw his first interception of the game and second of the season at his team’s 30-yard line. It was a pinpoint pass that was fumbled in the air by Jacolby George and into the arms of the USF defender. This gave the Bulls a chance to take the lead over Miami. The Bulls would take advantage of this opportunity with a scoring drive that took only three plays for 30 yards.
An 18-yard pass from quarterback Byrum Brown to senior wide receiver Sean Atkins was followed by a 12-yard scoring pass from Atkins to Brown. Gramatica’s extra point would give the Bulls a 9-7 lead.
The Bulls' onslaught did not deter the Canes, who worked to take the lead back on their next drive. Ward got to work and engineered an eight-play, 90-yard drive that ended with his 6-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Horton.
An extra point by Borregales gave the Canes a 14-9 lead over the Bulls with 1:47 left. The Canes' defense was patient on the next Bulls drive, not allowing them to get past their 33-yard line.
A promising Bulls drive - highlighted by a 26-yard pass from Brown to Atkins - was stopped short by three yards after Brown’s third-down pass to senior running back Ta’Ron Keith did not reach the 30-yard line. It resulted in Gramatica’s 51-yard field goal with 14:14 left in the second quarter, cutting the Canes' lead to 14-12.
After Miami’s next offensive drive resulted in a punt, USF used a whopping 19-play, 66-yard series that took more than eight minutes to complete. It culminated with a 45-yard field goal from kicker John Cannon as USF retook the lead at the 2:36 mark of the second quarter over Miami, 15-14.
The following Miami drive was short and successful. Martinez's 4-yard run was preceded by Ward’s 76-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Samuel Brown. Then, after a timeout, Miami converted on a two-point conversion to take a 22-15 lead over USF at the 1:56 mark.
The seven-point lead by the Canes would hold until halftime. After a half of play, USF had more first downs than Miami, 12-11. USF also did not commit a turnover, while Miami committed one with Ward’s interception. USF also won the time of possession over Miami (16:27-13:33).
But Miami outgained USF in total yardage (236-222) and had a better third-down conversion rate than USF, as it had a 60 percent success rate (3-for-5) while its opponent had a 44 percent success rate (4-for-9). And after halftime, it was all about the U.
Miami’s next game is home on Friday, Sept. 27 (7:30 p.m. kickoff) against Virginia Tech (2-2) at Hard Rock Stadium. This will be the ACC season opener for both teams.
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