Louisville Upsets Miami

Last Friday night, Miami (5-1, 1-1 ACC) fell to Louisville (5-1, 2-1) by a score of 24-21 at Hard Rock Stadium.

In last week’s Canes Corner preview of the game, my final words were, “Miami will be favored in the contest, but if they cannot stop shooting themselves in the foot with unnecessary pre-snap and foolish penalties, this could be the game where they don’t overcome those mistakes.” Nine penalties for 67 yards later, the now No. 9 Hurricanes fell from the ranks of the unbeaten.

Canes Corner also pointed out how dangerous Homestead High School’s running back Issac Brown would be. Brown led the Cardinals with 113 rushing yards on 15 carries. We also noted that wide receiver Chris Bell would need the Canes’ attention. Bell caught nine passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns.

Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said this about Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm before last week’s game: “Arguably one of the best play-callers in all of college football.” Brohm proved Cristobal’s words true in the Louisville win.

Miami found itself down 14-0 just 10 minutes into the contest. Louisville took the opening kickoff and had the Canes looking confused from the start. On the 11-play, 75-yard, two-touchdown drive, three different players took snaps in the shotgun formation, and there was misdirection on nearly every play. Miami looked lost.

On the second play of the Canes’ first possession, a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty led to a third-and-20, followed by a punt that was returned to the Miami 46. On the fourth play of the drive from the 35, quarterback Miller Moss connected on a short pass to Bell, who took it to the house for a 14-0 lead.

Miami responded well on its next possession. Quarterback Carson Beck hit wide receiver CJ Daniels for 30 yards on first down and followed with a 39-yard completion to Malachi Toney. It was first-and-goal on the Louisville 6. Three Mark Fletcher Jr. rushes later, Miami was on the scoreboard with a 2-yard touchdown run.

Louisville was held on its next drive, and Miami took over on its 7-yard line. The Canes managed a first down, but on first-and-10 from the 18, Beck was intercepted at the Louisville 32. An 11-yard sack by Miami’s Keionte Scott stymied the Cardinals’ next drive, and Miami took over at its 11.

On second-and-10 from the 32, Beck was intercepted again. Miami held and took over on its 30. A 61-yard completion from Beck to Toney gave the Canes a first-and-goal at the 9, but they couldn’t move the ball and settled for a field goal, making the score 14-10 at halftime.

Miami took the second-half kickoff and went three-and-out. Louisville followed with a 48-yard field goal for a 17-10 lead four minutes into the third quarter. The teams traded punts before Miami took over on its 45. The Canes went 32 yards on six plays but again had to settle for a field goal, making it 17-13 after the third quarter.

Louisville opened the final frame with an eight-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a Moss-to-Bell 36-yard touchdown and a 24-13 lead. Miami was driving into Louisville territory when, from the Cardinals’ 44, Beck was intercepted for the third time with 7:50 remaining.

Miami came to life when a hit by K. Scott on Louisville’s first-and-10 rush forced a fumble recovered by Zechariah Poyser, who returned it to the Louisville 12. Toney ran around the left end for a 12-yard touchdown on first down. The Canes went for two, and Toney took a handoff and passed to Daniels for the conversion. Miami was within three at 24-21 with 7:39 left.

Louisville made two first downs and moved to its 49 but punted on fourth-and-eight. Miami took over on its 15 with 4:04 remaining. Down by only three after being outplayed for 56 minutes, the Canes had a chance to tie or win.

After two first downs, the Canes had a first-and-10 on their 43 with 2:11 left. Miami worked two more first downs and reached the Louisville 31 with 33 seconds remaining. Beck dropped back to pass and was intercepted for the fourth time. Game over.

Louisville deserved the win. The Cardinals held Miami’s running game to just 63 yards and were better on both the offensive and defensive lines.

Cristobal said in his postgame remarks, “Obviously, disappointing evening and outcome. At the end of the day, credit to them. Certainly, they played a good game, but we didn’t coach well enough. We didn’t execute well enough, and certainly came up short — just not good enough. We hurt ourselves with some penalties. Our guys played with great effort all the way to the end. We gave ourselves a chance to tie or win the game but did not overcome all the issues we caused ourselves, and again, really good play by the opponent as well.”

Miami fell from No. 2 to No. 9 in the latest AP poll. Next up is a home game on Saturday, Oct. 25, against the Stanford Cardinal (3-4, 2-2), who beat Florida State 20-13 last weekend. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

That’s it for now. Be well, all, and go Canes!