MIAMI GARDENS – While the Miami Hurricanes were never in danger of losing their home tilt against the Virginia Cavaliers, it did not feel that way for the most part.

In No. 11 Miami’s 19-14 win over Virginia, graduate senior quarterback D’Eriq King provided a level of steadiness from start to finish, as he completed 21 of 30 passes for 322 yards and a touchdown. His defining play came on the game’s first drive and second play, when he connected with senior wide receiver Mike Harley Jr. for a 43-yard touchdown pass that gave the Hurricanes a 7-0 lead at the 14:32 mark.

Then Virginia struck right back, as sophomore quarterback Brennan Armstrong (16-30, 181 yards, two touchdowns) found Tony Poljan for a 2-yard scoring pass at the 10:06 mark. An extra point by kicker Brian Delaney tied the game up at 7-7.

Not much activity took place from that point up until less than two minutes left in the second quarter, when King led a 10-play, 65-yard drive that ended with a 32-yard field goal made by graduate senior kicker Jose Borregales for a 10-7 Hurricanes lead. The three-point lead came with 1:02 left in the first half and held serve at halftime.

The rest of Miami’s scoring took place in the third quarter, which was started by another field goal made by Borregales. The graduate kicker hit a 20-yarder that extended Miami’s lead to 13-7.

For the Hurricanes, their pivotal offensive drive took 16 plays for 88 yards and took six minutes, 10 seconds off the clock. This seemed to be enough of a cushion for the home team, but knowing how tough the Cavaliers play, a win was far from a foregone conclusion.

This was true until the fourth quarter, when King engineered a game-winning 12-play, 80-yard drive that resulted in a 1-yard touchdown plunge from running back Don Chaney Jr. (10 carries, 43 yards, one touchdown). The pivotal score happened at the 12:04 mark.

Miami survived a late Virginia rally, which featured a surprising defensive secondary lapse that resulted in a 35-yard touchdown pass from Armstrong to Ra’Shaun Henry with 5:27 left.

It was an ugly game, but it was one that showed Miami’s ability to come out on top in a situation like that.

“Miami-Virginia. How many years in a row? I guess three years in a row it’s seemed like it’s really, really hard to score 20 points in this game,” Hurricanes head coach Manny Diaz said. “I was proud of the way that we played in the second half. Obviously, we need to finish red-zone drives better. Probably left a lot of points out there on the field, but we were on the other end of that last week playing great red-zone defense. It’s all part of it. You got to give Virginia credit. We know that they’ve got a prideful defensive football team. They’re hard to run the ball against.”

Diaz spoke on Harley, who was selected as Miami’s Player of the Game.

“I think Mike absolutely accepted the challenge,” Diaz said of Harley, who had 10 catches for 170 yards and the 43-yard touchdown catch. “He wanted to be pushed and it’s not easy, especially when you’re a senior. But I’ve got to say, to Mike’s credit, the way he practiced, he didn’t bat an eye. He was a great leader all week in practice and it wasn’t surprising that he played well in the game.”

Harley spoke on his touchdown catch from King.
“It felt normal because we start practice with a period called ‘fast start,” Harley said. “We actually did that play the second play. [D’Eriq] King threw it and I scored in practice, so when we got to the game, I was like, ‘Okay, no pressure, let’s make it happen.’ He called it and the rest was history so, when that happened, I was like, ‘Okay, it’s time to put my foot on the gas and keep going forward and get the young guys behind me and give King the confidence to throw the fifty-fifty balls and the deep balls.’”

• King spoke on Harley’s breakout performance.

  “I think he helped us a lot,” King said of Harley. “Will [Mallory] made a great catch on the first play and then Harley took deep. I think that’s what we need. I think we’re going to keep after throwing the ball deep and keep trusting those guys, and I think those guys will make plays. Mike played a great game. He stepped up…I’m happy for him.”

  King spoke on how Miami currently fares at the halfway mark of this 2020 season.

  “It’s gone super fast,” King said. “I feel like every year, the season flies by. But as far as the first half of the season, we’re 5-1. Obviously, we want to be 6-0. We lost one game to Clemson. We got a bye week this week. I think we’ll start getting guys back. So, we’ve just got to keep stacking wins.”

  King on his outlook for the rest of this season:

  “I think the second half of the season, that’s where the great teams are going to step up,” King said. “You got to stay one week at a time. You can’t overlook anybody. You got to try to just go 1-0 every week.”

  LOCAL PERFORMANCES: MIAMI

• Junior safety Gurvan Hall: two tackles, two pass breakups
• Redshirt senior linebacker and captain Zach McCloud: one tackle

  NEXT GAME FOR MIAMI (5–1): Friday, Nov. 6 on the road at No. 23 NC State (5-2), 7:30 p.m. kickoff time on ESPN

  NEXT GAME FOR VIRGINIA (1-4): Saturday, Oct. 31 at home vs. No. 14 North Carolina (5-1), 8 p.m. kickoff on ACC Network

  PHOTO CREDITS: Canes Football