No. 6 Miami Hurricanes Hold Off Louisville 52-45 to Stay Unbeaten, QB Cam Ward Throws for 4 TDs
By Space Coast Daily // October 19, 2024
Miami Hurricanes improve to 6-0 (2-0)
ABOVE VIDEO: Miami vs. Louisville Game Highlights
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY (Miami Hurricanes) – After two straight prime-time thrill rides, the Miami Hurricanes brought their edge-of-your-seat gridiron show to daytime television.
Hope you didn’t blink.
Quarterback Cam Ward threw four touchdown passes, wide receivers Sam Brown, Jr. and Xavier Restrepo each topped the 100-yard receiving mark and Miami rushed for 219 yards in a wild 52-45 win over Louisville Saturday before a crowd of 59,115 — the second largest in L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium history.
The sixth-ranked Canes improved to 7-0 and 3-0 in ACC play. The Cardinals fell to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in conference play. In the process the Canes are bringing back to Coral Gables the Schnellenberger Trophy – featuring a pair of bronzed boots worn by legendary Miami and Louisville head coach Howard Schnellenberger.
Miami racked up 538 yards of total offense and led by two touchdowns in the third quarter before Louisville stormed back with two touchdowns in 67 seconds to tie it. But the Canes pulled away in the fourth quarter, holding the ball for nine minutes and clinching the game with an 11-play, 80-yard scoring march.
“That was a hard-fought game, a lot of back and forth,” head coach Mario Cristobal said. “Explosive plays by us, explosive plays by them. We had some errors on special teams that certainly hurt us, but one thing that didn’t was our effort. We always played hard. There was resiliency. We made plays when it mattered. … A lot of good stuff.”
Ward completed 21 of 32 passes for 319 yards. Restrepo had seven receptions for 101 yards and one touchdown, while Brown totaled 125 yards on just three catches, including a score. Jacolby George and Isaiah Horton also had touchdown grabs. Running back Damien Martinez carried 12 times for 89 yards and one touchdown, while fellow back Mark Fletcher, Jr. had 73 yards on 13 carries. The Canes were a crisp, efficient 9 of 15 on third down and converted both of their fourth-down attempts.
Defensive tackle Simeon Barrow, Jr. had a monster game in the trenches, collecting six tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and forcing a fumble that linebacker Raul Aguirre, Jr. recovered for a touchdown. Linebacker Francisco Mauigoa had four tackles and two passes defensed.
Cards quarterback Tyler Slough completed 31 of 51 passes for 342 yards and four touchdowns. Wide receiver Ja’Corey Brooks had six catches for 107 yards and two scores. Running back Isaac Brown rushed for 56 yards and a score, and wide receiver Caullin Lacy returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown.
