Game Day Notes: Miami Hurricanes vs. Duke … how to watch, start time, game notes & more

NO. 5 MIAMI (8-0, 4-0 ACC) VS. DUKE (6-2, 2-2 ACC)

GAMEDAY INFO

Date: Sat., Nov. 2, 2024
Time: 12 p.m. EDT
Location: Miami Gardens, Fla.
Stadium: Hard Rock Stadium (65,326)
Television: ABC
Talent: Joe Tessitore, Jesse Palmer, Katie George
Radio: 560 WQAM
Talent: Joe Zagacki, Don Bailey, Jr., Josh Darrow
Series History: Miami leads, 15-5
Miami / Miami Gardens: Miami leads, 6-3
Durham: Miami leads, 9-2
Neutral Site: N/A
Last Meeting: Miami lost, 21-45 (October 22, 2022)

GAME NOTES

QUICK HITS

• The Miami Hurricanes continue their third season under the direction of head coach Mario Cristobal on Sat., Nov. 2 vs. Duke. Kickoff from Hard Rock Stadium is set for 12 p.m. on ABC.

• Miami is off to a 8-0 start for the first time under Cristobal. Last time out, Miami dominated rival Florida State, 36-14, on Homecoming on Oct. 26.

• QB Cam Ward became the first Hurricanes quarterback in history to ever record seven straight performances of 300 passing yards or more; the streak ended last time out vs. Florida State.

• WR Xavier Restrepo moved into No. 3 in Miami’s all-time receiving yards list in Miami’s win over Florida State, passing the legendary Michael Irvin (2,423). He now has 2,427 career yards.

• Miami is looking to start a season 9-0 for the first time since 2017, when it started the season 10-0.

STORYLINES

• Miami is looking to continue a strong start to Atlantic Coast Conference play when it hosts Duke on Saturday, Nov. 2. The Hurricanes are looking to start 5-0 in ACC play for the first time since 2017, when it started 10-0 overall and 7-0 in ACC and finished with a 7-1 ACC record.

• 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 checked in at No. 5 in the LBM Coaches Poll and No. 5 in the Associated Press poll on Oct. 27.

• 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 in Hurricanes history throw for 300 yards in seven straight starts. He is considered a Heisman Trophy frontrunner.

THE MATCHUP

• #5/#5 Miami continues the 2024 season – its third under head coach Mario Cristobal – on Sat, Nov. 2 with its penultimate home contest of the season against Duke. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. on ABC from Hard Rock Stadium.

• The Hurricanes lead the all-time series by a 15-5 margin, but lost the last matchup, 45-21, at Hard Rock Stadium in Cristobal’s first season in 2022. The Canes are 6-3 against the Blue Devils all time in Miami / Miami Gardens.

• Miami is looking to start the season 9-0 for the first time under Cristobal and the first time since 2017 (10-0).

A LOOK BACK: CANES THUMP FSU IN RIVALRY TILT

• After three straight games featuring drama and late theatrics, Miami was in control from the outset on Oct. 26, leading to a commanding 36-14 win over visiting Florida State in a rivalry matchup at Hard Rock Stadium.

• For the first time as a Hurricane, QB Cam Ward did not throw for 300 yards. He finished 22-for-35 for 208 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. No matter, though – Miami’s running attack piled up 230 yards and three TDs.

• RB Damien Martinez led the way for the Hurricanes, finishing with a season-high 148 yards and two TDs on the ground. He had a long rush of 53 yards and averaged 9.9 yards, and was named ACC Running Back of the Week.

• RB Mark Fletcher, Jr. made his second straight start at running back and opened the scoring with a touchdown run to put Miami up 7-0 in the first quarter. Fletcher finished with 71 yards on 15 carries in the win.

• WR Xavier Restrepo may have only hauled in four catches for 24 yards, but he moved past Michael Irvin into third place in all-time receiving yards in the win. He now has 2,427 yards – just ahead of Irvin (2.423).

• Defensively, Miami held Florida State’s offense to a paltry 248 yards – including just 115 passing yards. LB Francisco Mauigoa led UM with seven tackles. DL Akheem Mesidor had a sack and DL Rueben Bain had 1.5 TFLs.

MIAMI CHECKS IN AT NO. 5 IN BOTH MAJOR POLLS

• Following a 36-14 win over Florida State last time out, Miami stayed put at No. 5 in the LBM Coaches Poll and moved up to the No. 5 spot in the Associated Press top 25 on Oct. 27. UM had been No. 6 in last week’s AP poll.

• Following a 56-9 win over Florida A&M on Sept. 7, Miami cracked the AP top 10 for the first time since Dec. 6, 2020 (No. 9). Following Miami’s last win over FSU, the Canes cracked the AP top 5 for the first time since 2017.

• Bolstered by the addition of several impressive newcomers and anchored by a talented group of returning veterans, the Hurricanes were 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 four weeks of 2024.

RESTREPO PASSES IRVIN, CLOSING IN ON RECORDS

• With a six-catch, 99-yard performance vs. USF on Sept. 21, WR Xavier Restrepo became the 10th Hurricane in program history to eclipse 2,000 career receiving yards. Over his career, Restrepo has now totaled 2,427 yards.

• With 101 yards in a win at Louisville, Restrepo moved into first place in career 100-yard receiving games with 10.

• With four catches last time out in a win over Florida State, Restrepo moved into second place in career receptions, passing Reggie Wayne (173). Restrepo needs nine more catches to pass Mike Harley (182) for the record.

• Just this season, Restrepo has soared past Mike Harley (No. 8), Leonard Hankerson (No. 7), Stacy Coley (No. 6), Lamar Thomas (No. 5) and No. 4 Michael Irvin (2,423) into the top-three in all-time receiving yards at Miami. Restrepo needs 84 yards to pass No. 2 Reggie Wayne (2,510) and 121 to pass Miami’s all-time leading receiver, Santana Moss (2,547).

• With his ninth career 100-yard performance in Miami’s win at Cal, Restrepo move past Andre Johnson for the most games with 100 receiving yards by a Cane since 2000. Restrepo, who tied Johnson with a 100-yard game earlier in the season, had already moved past Santana Moss and Phillip Dorsett (7 each) this season.

HEISMAN CANDIDATE SIGNAL CALLER: 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. He is now among the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy.

• At the FBS level, Ward has 18 career performances of 300-or-more passing yards (including seven straight to start this season, the first UM quarterback to ever have seven consecutive 300-yard games). 18 is tied for fourth most (Alan Bowman) among active players, trailing Dillon Gabriel (25), Will Rogers (23) and Seth Henigan (21).

• In a win over USF on Sept. 21, Ward became the 13th player to surpass 15,000 career passing yards in college – he now has 16,622 yards. He became the first ACC player since Miami joined (2004) with at least 300 passing yards and three touchdowns in each of their first five games and the first Miami quarterback to ever do so.

• 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 the first four games early with UM sporting substantial leads.

• 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.

• 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.

UM STARTS 8-0 FOR 2ND TIME SINCE JOINING ACC

• With a 36-14 victory over Florida State last time out, the Hurricanes improved to 8-0 to start the season for only the second time since joining the ACC prior to 2004 and first time since 2017, when Miami started the year 10-0.

CANES OFFENSE RANKS #1 IN EXPLOSIVE PLAYS

• Miami is ranked No. 1 in FBS in plays of 20-or-more yards (65) and No. 1 in plays of 10-or-more yards (165). Of the 65 plays of 20-or-more yards, 50 are passing – most in FBS. Of the 165 plays of 10-or-more yards, 116 are passing. The Canes had only 48 passing plays of 20-or-more yards and 129 of 10-or-more pass yards in 2023.

GUIDRY’S CAUSING MAYHEM IN YEAR 2 AT MIAMI

• Entering Week 10, the Hurricanes rank No. 12 in the nation in “defensive mayhem” – plays on defense featuring a a tackle for loss, an interception or a gained fumble. Miami has a 14.14% mayhem rate on defense; the Hurricanes have racked up a 8.78% sack rate, a 11.85% tackle-for-loss rate and a 3.70% interception rate in their 8-0 start.

• UM ranks No. 7 in FBS in team sacks (3.25), No. 15 in tackles for loss (7.1) & No. 16 in passes intercepted (10).

MACKEY CANDIDATE ARROYO, TE GROUP SHINING

• 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 eight games, Miami’s tight ends have totaled 553 yards on 33 catches with seven touchdown catches. Last time out, Arroyo threw the first touchdown pass of his career on a trick play to Ward. Arroyo ranks fifth on Miami with 16 catches for 310 yards with four touchdowns, which is tied for second-most on Miami.

OFFENSE AMONG BEST IN COUNTRY IN “3-&-OUT”

• Miami’s offense has gone three-and-out on just 3.3% of drives this season. That’s the lowest rate by an FBS offense since at least 2004, per TruMediaSports (via Max Olson of The Athletic). Only three of 92 drives have ended with a punt after three plays – two in the season opener. The Canes have one three-and-out in their last 82 drives.

MIAMI LEADS FBS IN TOTAL OFFENSE, TOP 15 IN D

• Miami is one of just seven teams to rank in the top 15 of both total offense (#1) and total defense (#14) entering Week 10 of college football. The Canes rank first in the ACC in both categories – total offense and total defense.

O-LINE NAMED JOE MOORE AWARD HONOR ROLL

• The Hurricanes’ offensive line was one of 22 groups named to the midseason honor roll for the Joe Moore Award honoring the nation’s top unit. Despite missing two players who started the opener for a stretch of five games, the Hurricanes made the cut for the second straight year. Mario Cristobal’s OL won the award at Alabama in 2015.

CONTROLLING THE CLOCK: CANES IN TOP 5 IN FBS

• While Miami’s offense has been among the most prolific in the country through the first half of the season, the Hurricanes have also methodically controlled the clock this year. Miami is one of just five teams whose average time of possession is more than 34 minutes per game – 34:18, the fourth-highest mark in all of FBS. Team Average TOP 1) Syracuse 34:55 2) Army 34:51 3) Oregon State 34:31 4) Miami 34:18 5) Memphis 34:08

• The Hurricanes average more than 12 more offensive plays per game than their opponents (72.25 / 60.125).

UM RANKS AMONG BEST IN FBS IN “MIDDLE EIGHT”

• In the “middle eight” rankings – which tracks 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.

• The Hurricanes have remained steady this year; Miami is ranked No. 16 in FBS in middle eight this year (+3.8). From 2014-2019, teams that won the “middle eight” minutes of the game at the FBS level won 74% of the time.

50-BURGER: CANES MAKE IT FOUR GAMES OF 50+

• Miami scored 50 points for the third straight game on Sept. 21, topping USF 50-15. The last time Miami had a season featuring three offensive outputs of at least 50 points was 2001 – when it won the national title. Miami had never scored 50 points in three consecutive games prior to this season. UM is No. 2 in FBS in scoring offense.

• 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. The previous high for 50-point UM games was three.

MIAMI AMONG MOST EFFICIENT SCORING TEAMS

• Even as the nation’s most prolific offense, the Hurricanes have managed an impressive level of efficiency. Against FBS Competition:

• The Hurricanes score points on 62.5% of their offensive possessions – the best-mark in the nation. Miami scores touchdowns on 50% of possessions – the second-best mark in all of FBS.

• Miami’s 3.75% three-and-out percentage on offense is by far the best such mark in the nation.

• The Hurricanes’ 16.25% punt percentage on all offensive drives is the lowest such mark in the nation.

• The Hurricanes’ 3.38 points-per-possession average is the second-best mark in the country.

WARD BEGAN MIAMI CAREER WITH 300+ STREAK

• Cam Ward became the sixth FBS quarterback since 1996 to open a career at a school with seven straight 300- yard performances, joining Gardner Minshew (11 – WSU), Bailey Zappe (8 – WKU), Michael Penix, Jr. (8 – UW), Chase Holbrook (7 – NM State), Will Grier (7 – WVU) and Syracuse’s Kyle McCord (7), whose streak is active.

BORREGALES TIED FOR 3RD-MOST FG AT MIAMI

• One of the top kickers in the country for the entirety of his career with the Miami Hurricanes, K Andy Borregales is enjoying a senior year that could leave him atop the Miami record books among the best kickers in history.

• In a win over VT, Borregales kicked a career-long 56-yard field goal just before halftime – it was tied for the fourth-longest field in Miami Hurricanes history. He moved into sole possession of third place in all-time made field goals at Miami with three field goals (67) vs. Florida State last time out; he is tied for second in FBS among active kickers in career field goals

• Borregales had 12 points vs. the Seminoles (three field goals, three extra points), moving him to 362 career points. Borregales currently trails only Carlos Huerta (397) & Michael Badgley (403) in career points, ranking third at UM.

• Borregales, whose older brother Jose is the lone Lou Groza Award winner in Miami history (2020), went 22 for 26 on field goals in 2023, tied for the most made kicks in the Atlantic Coast Conference. He converted 44 of his 45 extra point attempts and recorded 46 touchbacks on 73 kickoffs. He was also an All-ACC first-team honoree.

• His 67 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 seven in the country who have more than 60 career field goals, joining Jonah Dalmas (Boise State – 90), Alex Raynor (Kentucky – 67), John Hoyland (Wyoming – 67), Tyler Hoop (Arizona – 63), Graham Nicholson (Alabama – 64) and Matthew Shipley (Arkansas – 61).