Damien Martinez Carries The Hurricanes To An Old School Victory
Big bruising old-school football for the No. 6 Miami as running back Damien Martinez dominated the Florida State Seminoles in a 36-14 victory on homecoming weekend.
Martinez has been under a microscope for his play and the lack of a running game over the past few contests but against FSU, he showed why he was the No. 1 back in the portal last season.
15 carries and one reception for 169 total yards and two touchdowns for the running back who has started to get comfortable in the RPO-style offense that the Hurricanes like to run.
Damien Martinez 53 yard run! pic.twitter.com/1ic0tRfn7Z
— NMD Grant (@NMDgrant) October 27, 2024
Last week, he was the clear RB2, falling behind sophomore Mark Fletcher Jr. in the depth chart, and that seems to have lit a fire under him. He is performing at another level and showed that in a different type of offensive attack that offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson would typically have in most games.
The Hurricanes have been the No. 1 passing offense in the country thanks to the talented arm of Heisman-hopeful Cam Ward. Against FSU, it was a concentrated effort to run the ball down the throats of the Seminoles, led by Martinez.
"We all ran hard tonight as a group," Martinez said post-game. "I don't want to take the shine away from Cam [Ward] but we finally outran his passing yards. Give credit to the O-line getting they block and you know dominating up front."
The Hurricanes will now look ahead to a familiar face in the Manny Diaz newly led Duke team in another home game ACC showdown as they remain undefeated on the season.
