Game Day Notes: Miami Hurricanes at USF … how to watch, start time, game notes & more

MIAMI (3-0, 0-0 ACC) AT USF

GAMEDAY INFO

Date: Sat., Sept. 21, 2024
Time: 7 p.m. EDT
Location: Tampa, Fla.
Stadium: Raymond James Stadium
Television: ESPN -OR- ESPN2
Talent: Bob Wischusen, Louis Riddick, Kris Budden
Radio: 560 WQAM
Talent: Joe Zagacki, Don Bailey, Jr., Josh Darrow
Series History: Miami leads, 5-1
Miami / Miami Gardens: 2-1
Tampa: Miami leads, 3-0
Neutral: N/A
Last Meeting: Miami won, 49-21 (9/28/2013)

GAME NOTES

QUICK HITS

• The Miami Hurricanes continue their third season under the direction of head coach Mario Cristobal on Sat., Sept. 21 at USF. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from Raymond James Stadium.

• The Hurricanes have not traveled to Tampa to play USF since 2013, when they won at Raymond James Stadium, 49-21.

• Miami is off to a 3-0 start for the second straight year under Cristobal’s direction. The Hurricanes finished off their nonconference home slate with a 62-0 win over Ball State on Sept. 14.

• The 62-0 win was the most lopsided shutout victory in Hurricanes history over an FBS opponent. Miami also set a program record for yards in a game (750).

• The Hurricanes have topped SEC opponents in back-to-back seasons, having beaten Florida to open 2024 and a top-25 Texas A&M team in 2023.

STORYLINES

• Miami is looking for its second straight 4-0 start to the season when it travels to USF on Sept. 21 for a matchup at Raymond James Stadium. Kickoff for Miami’s final nonconference tilt of the year is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN.

• Bolstered by the addition of several impressive newcomers and anchored by a talented group of returning veterans, Miami was ranked No. 19 in both preseason polls – and moved up to No. 8 in the Associated Press poll and No. 11 in the LBM Coaches Poll on Sept. 15.

• Among Miami’s top newcomers is QB Cam Ward, who was named ACC Preseason Player of the Year in a poll of media at the conference’s annual media day in Charlotte, N.C. Selected to nearly every major award watch list, Ward became the first quarterback since Miami joined the ACC to throw for 300 yards and three or more touchdowns in his first three starts of the year.

THE MATCHUP

• #8/#11 Miami continues the 2024 season – its third under head coach Mario Cristobal – on Saturday, Sept. 21 at USF. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. on ACC Network from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.

• The meeting between the two programs in the first since 2013, when the Hurricanes topped the Bulls, 49-21, in Tampa. Miami carries a perfect 3-0 record in games played in Tampa in the series and an overall mark of 5-1.

• Miami is looking to start the season 4-0 for the second straight year under Cristobal’s direction.

A LOOK BACK: MIAMI THRASHES BALL STATE, 62-0

• Miami delivered a historic performance in its final nonconference home game of the season, topping visiting Ball State, 62-0, in the first-ever matchup between the two programs at Hard Rock Stadium on Sept. 14.

• Miami’s 750 yards of offense against the Cardinals were the most ever in a game in program history, topping the previous mark set vs. Central Connecticut State (739) in 2020. The Hurricanes 62-0 win was its most lopsided shutout against an FBS opponent in school history – its previous best was 61-0 vs. Rutgers in 2001. Miami’s 507 passing yards mark the second-most in a game in history, trailing only 513 yards vs. UCLA on Dec. 5, 1998. With the exception of time expiring in both halves, the Hurricanes scored on 10 of their 11 possessions.

• In a game delayed nearly two-and-a-half hours due to lightning, QB Cam Ward set a personal record with five touchdown passes in the rout – despite playing only one series in the second half. Ward finished 19-for-28 for 346 yards and no interceptions. His previous personal record for single-game touchdown passes was four. Since the Hurricanes joined the league ahead of the 2004 campaign, Ward is the first ACC player with at least 300 passing yards and three passing touchdowns in each of their first three games of a season.

• WR Jacolby George notched a season-best six catches for 109 yards and one touchdown. The 100-yard effort was the third of his career.

• Miami limited Ball State to just 115 yards of total offense, holding the Cardinals to six yards on the ground. The Hurricanes yielded just 25 yards in the second half. The Hurricanes totaled four sacks and nine tackles for loss.

MIAMI IN AP TOP 10 FOR SECOND STRAIGHT WEEK

• Following their 62-0 win over Ball State last time out, Miami moved up two spots to No. 8 in the Associated Press top 25 (from No. 10) and one spot to No. 11 (from No. 12) in the LBM Coaches Poll released on Sept. 15. This is the Hurricanes’ highest ranking in the AP poll since Oct. 4, 2020, when Miami checked in at No. 7 nationally.

• Following a 56-9 win over Florida A&M on Sept. 7, the Hurricanes cracked the top-10 of the Associated Press poll on Sept. 8 at No. 10. It was the first time Miami has been ranked in the AP top 10 since Dec. 6, 2020 (No. 9).

• Bolstered by the addition of several impressive newcomers and anchored by a talented group of returning veterans, the Hurricanes are ranked in the top 25 of both preseason polls – checking in at No. 19 in both polls.

• Mario Cristobal’s highest-ranked team as head coach came in the final 2019 polls, when Oregon was No. 5/5.

• The Hurricanes were not ranked in the 2023 preseason polls, but were ranked in the 2022 preseason polls in Cristobal’s first year as head coach, checking in at No. 16 in that year’s coaches poll and No. 17 in the AP top 25.

• Miami spent four weeks in the top 25 of 2022 (preseason, Sept. 6, Sept. 11, Sept. 18 polls) and also cracked the top 25 rankings of both polls for four weeks in 2023 (Sept. 10, Sept. 17, Sept. 24, Oct. 1). It has been in the rankings of both polls for the first three weeks of 2024.

RESTREPO CRACKS TOP 10 OF UM RECORD BOOK

• With a four-catch, 104-yard performance vs. Florida A&M, WR Xavier Restrepo jumped into the top 10 of Miami’s all-time record book in receiving yards.

• The performance – the eighth 100-yard game of his career – moved him past Andre Jonson (1,831) and Allen Hurns (1,891) into 10th place in program history. For his career, Restrepo now has totaled 1,980 yards.

• Restrepo needs 153 yards to pass No. 9 Phillip Dorsett (2,132), 167 to pass No. 8 Travis Benjamin (2,146), 179 to pass No. 7 Mike Harley (2,158) and 181 to pass No. 6 Leonard Hankerson (2,160). With 239 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 Phillip Dorsett (7 each)

NEW HURRICANES SIGNALCALLER: QB CAM WARD

• Miami added one of the top quarterbacks in the country in the January transfer window, signing QB Cam Ward after two dominant years at Washington State. Ward, who began his career at FCS program Incarnate Word in 2020, started all 25 games of his Washington State career across 2022 and 2023. He finished his time at Wazzu with 6,963 passing yards and 48 passing touchdowns compared to 16 interceptions, and also added 13 rushing touchdowns in his two years with the Cougars.

• Last time out, Ward became the first player since Miami joined the ACC (prior to 2004) with at least 300 passing yards and three touchdowns in each of their first three games of a season. He is also the first Miami quarterback to begin a season with three consecutive 300-yard performances.

• Ward’s 1,035 yards through the air are 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 last time out.

• In his first start as a Hurricane, Ward threw for 385 yards, three touchdowns and one interception on 26-for-35 passing in a road win over Florida. The 385 yards were the most by a Hurricane quarterback in the first start of his Miami career in the modern era of Hurricanes Football (since 1979). He added 33 rushing yards on three carries.

• Ward became the first Hurricane player in program history to throw for 300 yards in his first two starts when he tossed for 304 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions against Florida A&M. He also rushed for a touchdown in the victory to help propel Miami to a 2-0 start.

• 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. Ward was named ACC Quarterback of the Week and Maxwell Award National Player of the Week for his performance against the Gators. He was also named Davey O’Brien Quarterback of the Week, a member of the Davey O’Brien Award “Great Eight” and a Manning Award Star of the Week.

• He passed for 2,260 yards and an FCS-leading 24 touchdowns against four interceptions with two rushing touchdowns in six games during the shortened 2020–21 FCS season, which was played in spring 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He won the Jerry Rice Award as the most outstanding freshman in Division I FCS.

• Ward was named the ACC Preseason Player of the Year in a poll of conference media at the league’s annual “ACC Kickoff” event in Charlotte. Before transferring to Washington State, Ward was named Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Year in his final year at UIW (2021), totaling 4,648 passing yards and 47 touchdowns.

• A native of West Columbia, Texas – with a population of 3,700 – Ward was a “zero star” recruit out of high school. Though he starred in high school, he threw for only 1,070 yards as a junior and had 12 passing attempts per game as a senior due to the program’s focus on running the football.

• Among active players entering the 2024 season, Cam Ward’s career total yardage of 14,140 at the FBS / FCS level far surpassed No. 2 Will Rogers (11,999), No. 3 Seth Henigan (11,483), No. 4 Grayson McCall (11,118) and No. 5 Shedeur Sanders (10,293). Since 2020, Ward and former Auburn / Oregon QB Bo Nix (14,110) were the only players to have surpassed 14,000 yards of total offense (pass and rush). He added 413 yards Week 1 vs. UF.

EXPLOSIVE PASS PLAYS HAVE DEFINED OFFENSE

• Miami ranks No. 1 in the nation in plays of 20-or-more yards (32) and No. 4 in the nation in plays of 10-or-more yards (66). Of the plays of 20-or-more yards, 26 are passing. Of the 66 plays of 10-or-more yards, 49 are passing. The Hurricanes had only 48 passing plays of 20-or-more yards in 2023 and 129 pass plays of 10-or-more yards.

TIGHT ENDS SHINE THROUGH FIRST THREE WEEKS

• A season after the entire group finished with 154 receiving yards and one touchdown in 2023, Miami’s tight ends have emerged as go-to options for QB Cam Ward in 2024. In the season opener vs. Florida, Elijah Arroyo had a career-best 89 yards on four catches, Cam McCormick opened the game’s scoring with his first touchdown as a Hurricane, and freshman Elija Lofton had two catches for 38 yards vs. the host Gators in a lopsided win.

• Through three weeks, Miami’s tight ends have totaled 320 yards on 17 catches with four touchdown receptions.

BARON FIRST IN NATION IN TFL, SECOND IN SACKS

• One of Miami’s most important offseason additions came on the defensive line, when DE Tyler Baron arrived to Coral Gables after an impressive career at Tennessee. Baron enrolled at Louisville for the spring but elected to transfer to the Hurricanes, where he has shined through the first three weeks of the 2024 season.

• Baron is tied for the FBS lead with 7.0 tackles for loss, alongside Kyle Kennard of South Carolina and TJ Jackson of West Virginia. He is tied for second in FBS in sacks (4.5) – behind Kennard + Jahvaree Ritzie (UNC) with 5.0. Baron has 18.0 career sacks – which ranks as 10th-highest active career total among all FBS players.

• The Knoxville, Tenn., native started once again and put together only the 10th three-sack game over the last 20 years by a UM player vs. Florida A&M. He was named ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week for his performance.

GUIDRY’S DEFENSE CAUSING MAYHEM FOR TEAMS

• Entering Week 4, the Hurricanes rank No. 1 in the nation in “defensive mayhem” – plays on defense featuring a a tackle for loss, an interception or a gained fumble. Despite no fumbles gained, UM still has a 20.75% mayhem rate on defense; the Hurricanes have a 12.24% sack rate, a 16.98% tackle-for-loss rate and a 6.98% interception rate. BALLHAWKS: PFF RANKS SECONDARY TOPS IN FBS

• The Hurricanes’ secondary lost four of five starters from a season ago, including both safeties (Kam Kinchens, James Williams), one starting cornerback (Jaden Davis) and its starting nickel (Te’Cory Couch). Despite the personnel losses, Miami ranks as the top-performing secondary in terms of pass coverage by PFF (92.2 grade).

• Miami ranks No. 12 nationally in passing yards allowed (123.0), No. 20 nationally in passing yards per completion (14.83), No. 3 nationally in passes intercepted (6) and No. 5 nationally in team passing efficiency defense (76.74).