No. 8 Miami Finishes the Season Undefeated at Home by Starching Deakes
No. 8 Miami finishes the season undefeated at home while the defense saves the day for the Hurricanes as they defeated the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 42-14 on senior day in another important victory.
Cam Ward had a quiet day as he only threw for 280 yards on 27-38 attempts with three total touchdowns and one bad interception.
While Ward has likely dropped out of the Heisman race, the defense arguably played its best game in conference play. They generated 5 sacks and held the Deakes under 100 rushing and passing yards.
Another star player for the Canes that has started to emerge is freshman running back Jordan Lyle. He runs like a grown man and helped secure the victory for the Canes with his late-game surges when he got the chance to see the rock.
The Hurricanes are on the road for their final game of the season against Syracuse. This will determine if they will be in the ACC Championship game and if their playoff hopes will be realized with a potential appearance on the line.
FOURTH QUARTER:
Jordan Lyle rushes for 61 yards to set Miami up in the redzone again with 2:30 to play.
Freshman Jordan Lyle ran 18 yards up the middle after a Wake Forest fumble on a kickoff return for another UM touchdown. Miami 35, Wake Forest 14.
Hurricanes with first and goal from the three. Two plays later, Miami scores on a one-yard plunge from Cam Ward. The two-point conversion was good and Miami took a 28-14 lead with 7:58 remaining in regulation.
THIRD QUARTER:
Miami shoots themselves in the foot again as they turn the ball over via fumble to Wake Forest at the Miami 33 yard line. Miami defense with another redzone stop.
No scoring in third quarter.
SECOND QUARTER:
In the first half, Cam Ward broke the UM single season passing yardage mark set by Bernie Kosar in 1984. Ward’s 13-yard completion to Damien Martinez with 1:27 left in the second quarter gave him 3,643 yards for the season. Kosar’s mark of 3,642 yards stood for 40 years after he set the record in 1984.
Andres Borregales kicks his second field goal of the half as he nails a 25-yard field goal with: 08 remaining. Miami leads at the half 20-14.
It's not getting any better for Miami as Cam Ward throws an interception in positive territory. Miami was driving and Wake takes over at the 26. No harm, no foul as the Demon Deacons are forced to punt.
Demond Claiborne with a 100-yard kickoff return, Miami 17, Wake Forest 14.
Meesh Powell with the interception and returns it 77 yards for the Miami touchdown. Miami 17, Wake Forest 7.
FIRST QUARTER:
Andres Borregales 40 yard FG, Miami 10, Wake Forest 7. 8 plays 53 yards.
Wake Forest strikes back with a 36-yard pass from Hank Bachmeier to Micah Mays Jr. Miami 7, Wake Forest 7. 7 plays 75 yard 3:01 TOP, 5:31 remaining first quarter.
Miami running the ball well early. Cam Ward 13 yard TD pass to Jacolby George. Miami 7, Wake Forest 0. 13 plays, 84 yards, 6:22 TOP. 8:32 remaining first quarter.
Wake Forest wins the toss and DEFERS. Miami will receive.
It is senior day at the University of Miami. The Hurricanes are honoring 27 seniors who will touch the field at Hard Rock Stadium for the last time during the regular season.
Cornerback Damari Brown is slated to make the start in the place of Jadais Richard.
Miami leads the all-time series with the Demon Deacons, 8-3 winning seven straight meetings. The two sides last faced off in 2013.
The Hurricanes (9-1, 5-1 ACC) still hold their destiny thanks to Virginia defeating Pitt this past weekend, and now only have to defeat Wake Forest (4-5, 2-3 ACC) and Sycrasue (6-3, 3-3 ACC) to make it to the ACC Championship game where they would likely take on the SMU Mustangs.
HOW TO WATCH:
Time: Noon ET
TV: ESPN
Location: Hard Rock Stadium
Date: November 23
Series: The Hurricanes lead the series 8-3 against the Demon Deacons
Last Matchup: The last time these two teams faced off against each other was in 2013 when the Miami Hurricanes defeated Wake Forest 24-21. Duke Johnson rushed for 168 yards and two touchdowns that led the team to victory.
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Miami's Andres Borregales Named To The Groza Award Semifinalist
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Scott Salomon joined On SI in April 2024 covering breaking news and analysis for the Miami Dolphins site, and has since contributed to the Miami Heat, Back in the Day NBA, Miami Hurricanes and San Antonio Spurs sites. Scott is based in South Florida and has been covering the local and national sports scene for 35 years. He's covered and has been credentialed for the Super Bowl, the NFL Combine, various Orange Bowls and college football championship games. Scott was also credentialed for the NBA All-Star game and covered the Miami Heat during their first six seasons for USA TODAY. Scott is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Communication and the St. Thomas University School of Law. Scott has two sons and his hobbies include watching sports on television and binge watching shows on various streaming services.