The Miami Hurricanes were feeling a lot of different things on Friday night as they waited out the uncertainty of the game’s last play.
Quarterback Cam Ward remarked, “Just pain.” “You have no control over the game.” Elijah Arroyo, a tight end, described himself as “nervous, happy, excited.” “It was an insane sensation.” Xavier Restrepo, a wide receiver, continued, “I was praying.”
Malik Bryant, a defensive lineman, added, “Emotions were definitely high.” All we want is what we desire, that’s all.”
Mario Cristobal’s sole idea? “I observed an unfinished pass,” the coach of the Hurricanes stated. The referees eventually, thankfully, noticed the same thing.
Originally called a 30-yard, go-ahead, walk-off touchdown to Da’Quan Felton, Kyron Drones’ Hail Mary attempt on the game’s last play was deemed incomplete. The game was chaotic on the field for about five minutes as the referees tried to figure out what had really happened, with both teams thinking they had won at different points. Nevertheless, the No. 7 Hurricanes defeated Virginia Tech 38-34 to open Atlantic Coast Conference play.
“A fantastic match, where we overcome numerous obstacles, including self-inflicted problems, to manage the outcome,” Cristobal remarked.
Before the craziness of the last play, the Hurricanes (5-0, 1-0 ACC) overcame a pair of 10-point deficits in the second half to hold off Virginia Tech (2-3, 0-1 ACC).
In the second half, Ward led touchdown drives of 89, 70, and 57 yards, the last of which was possibly the most spectacular.
One such play was a fourth-down ball from Ward to Xavier Restrepo, who was lying on his back when he slipped but managed to catch it.
Ward avoided two possible sacks and then heaved a chest pass to tight end Riley Williams, who broke two tackles for a gain of 26 yards. Isaiah Horton scored a 1-yard touchdown pass to give Miami the lead with 1:57 remaining in the game.
Arroyo, who had two receptions for 88 yards and a touchdown in the opening quarter, described Ward as “that man.” Like, that play would not have been made by anyone else that I could have witnessed.
It’s simply insane to observe up close. At the end of the game, Ward ran for a fifth score and completed 24 of 38 passes for 343 yards and four touchdowns. In each of his five UM career games, he has passed for three touchdowns and at least 300 yards.
Two touchdown passes to tight end Cam McCormick for six yards and a 17-yard touchdown run by Ward concluded the other two Miami scoring drives in the second half.
Cristobal remarked, “Look, that guy, you saw all the stuff went through and the times he was hit.” “What did the player do after he had two interceptions and some sacks? He simply continued on and on and on. He is not deterred. I applaud him for his toughness and ability to prevail.
Let’s be clear now: On Friday night, the Hurricanes were far from their best. They didn’t gain enough steady momentum early on and played shoddy defense and offense. With two interceptions and a fumble, Ward mishandled the ball three times, resulting in 14 points for Virginia Tech.
Miami was behind 24–17 at the half, 27–17 at the start of the third quarter, and 34–24 with 12:05 remaining in the game. Bryant remarked, “We all leaned on each other.” “We simply understood what needed to be done.” And they performed well enough to maintain their season’s perfection when it counted most.
Furthermore, several underappreciated incidents contributed to Miami’s advancement to the point where the wild final play was significant.
At the end of the first half, Andres Borregales made a career-long 56-yard field goal to send Miami into the locker room behind by just one point. After Ward’s second interception late in the third quarter, Bryant was able to identify Virginia Tech’s bogus field goal attempt.
Ward was stretching plays and dodging pressure, as he has done oftentimes this season. Between the last two touchdown drives by the offense, the defense forced a three-and-out. And, luckily, at long last, they emerged victorious. We simply figured it out, Cristobal remarked.