LOUISVILLE – In what was a nationally televised battle between two rising ACC programs, it was clear who the difference maker would be.

Led by dual-threat quarterback D’Eriq King, the No. 17-ranked Miami Hurricanes had a turnover-free outing on the road in a 47-34 win over the No. 18-ranked Louisville Cardinals. He finished the game with 18 of 30 passes completed with 325 yards and 3 touchdowns.

With King on the field, Miami’s win was never in doubt.

“We played a pretty good game,” King said. “There was a lot of stuff we left on the field, but I think it takes time…Coach [Rhett] Lashlee did a great job of scheming up this week. We got a lot of guys wide open to make big plays.”

A game-shaping moment took place early on, when King found tight end Will Mallory across the middle of the field for a 17-yard scoring connection at the 7:11 mark. With an extra point by kicker Jose Borregales, Miami (2-0; 1-0 ACC) took a 7-3 lead that it would not relinquish.

King’s connection with his tight ends have proven to be a big difference so far this season. In addition to the early score by Mallory (1 catch, 17 yards, 1 touchdown), fellow tight end Brevin Jordan had a game to remember, as evidenced by his 7 catches for 120 yards and 1 touchdown.

Jordan’s best moment against Louisville arguably came on a play that happened late in the first quarter. As he completed a sideline pass from King, the tight end muscled his way past the Louisville 10-yard line and jumped over a defender to reach the opposition’s 3-yard line.

Jordan’s effort paved the way for a 3-yard touchdown run by freshman running back and Deerfield Beach alum Jaylan Knighton at the 1:41 mark. An extra point by Borregales gave Miami a 14-3 lead.

“This is only the beginning”, Jordan said.

A few field goals would account for the game’s scoring through halftime. Borregales connected on two of them, including a school-record tying 57-yarder at the 5:49 mark that gave Miami a 20-6 lead which would hold at the half.

And then after Louisville (1-1; 0-1 ACC) scored to cut Miami’s lead to 20-13 early in the third frame, it was time for Miami to put this game on wide open throttle.

It took just one play for that to happen. This came on a 75-yard burst to the end zone by Hurricanes junior running back Cam’Ron Harris, who propelled his team to a 27-13 lead at the 11:15 mark.

“Shout out to the o-line,” said Harris, who finished the game with 9 carries for 134 yards and 1 score. “I wouldn’t have a long run if it wasn’t for them. I’ve been hitting it downhill, pressed and locked. When I seen the outside lane, I hit it and go.”

And right after Louisville cut Miami’s lead later in the third quarter to 27-20, Knighton had his own 75-yard scoring moment. It came on King’s wide-open sideline pass connected at the 5:02 mark, which extended Miami’s lead to 34-20.

“We planned that play for a specific moment like when we called it,” Knighton said. “I made him (the backer) miss, caught the ball, and seen daylight.”

Jordan, who hauled in a 47-touchdown pass from King in the fourth quarter, spoke on these offensive breakout moments throughout the game.

“Those were the plays we knew would work,” Jordan said. “We were just waiting on the moment to call them because of the looks they (the Louisville defense) gave us.”

Miami head coach Manny Diaz reflected on his team’s 13-point win over Louisville.

“Everything we thought about Louisville before the game turned out to be true,” Diaz said. “We talked about creating more explosive plays through the passing game, which we were able to do, but we also had some obviously big ones in the running game as well… I thought D’Eriq (King) was poised, in control, and made some great throws and made some big-time plays… Overall, I think our players appreciate the difficulty of coming to Louisville and winning, but they know there’s a lot more meat on the bone.”

LOCAL STANDOUTS

• Redshirt senior linebacker Zach McCloud had perhaps his best game of his college career, as he recorded 9 tackles (1 TFL), 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, and 1 fumble recovery.

The Santaluces alum made the game’s final play, which was his forced fumble and recovery that sealed his team’s 13-point win.

• Senior safety Amari Carter had 8 tackles, including 1 fumble recovery to end the first half.
• Junior safety Gurvan Hall had 4 tackles.
• Carter and Hall combined to account for more than half of Miami’s tackles at safety (12 total), while fellow starting safety Bubba Bolden led all Hurricanes defenders with 11 tackles (1 TFL) and 1 forced fumble.
• Miami forced three turnovers, two of which came from our area’s college seniors in McCloud and Carter. The other turnover was an interception caught in the first half by St. Thomas Aquinas alum and cornerback Al Blades Jr.

  NEXT GAME FOR MIAMI: Saturday, Sept. 26 at home (7:30 p.m.; ABC Network) vs. Florida State (0-1; 0-1 ACC)

  NEXT GAME FOR LOUISVILLE: Saturday, Sept. 26 on the road (12:00 p.m.; ACC Network) at No. 25 Pittsburgh (2-0; 1-0 ACC)

  PHOTO CREDITS: Canes Football