MIAMI GARDENS – There were several chances for Miami (2-3; 0-1 in ACC play) to pull out a win over North Carolina (5-1; 2-0 in ACC) on Saturday night (Oct. 8) at Hard Rock Stadium.
Down 27-24 with 2:20 left in the game, it seemed as if the Hurricanes have recovered an onside kick. But it was ruled after further review that it was not successful.
The Tar Heels got the ball and needed only one first down to potentially seal the win. But the Hurricanes forced a three-and-out and got the ball back one last time after a Tar Heel punt landed at their own 10-yard line with 1:14 left.
Hurricanes quarterback Tyler Van Dyke (42-for-57, 496 yards, three touchdowns, one interception) completed two passes that resulted in key first downs – one of which went to tight end Will Mallory (game-high eight catches, game-high 115 yards) for a 12-yard game from the 35-yard line to the 47-yard line.
With 41 seconds left, it seemed as if Miami had a legitimate chance to at least get into field goal range.
But after a few plays, Van Dyke threw his first and only interception of the game with 10 seconds left to North Carolina defender De’Andre Boykin.
This play effectively sealed Miami’s 27-24 loss to North Carolina.
“I’ll just go right to it; we knew we had work to do getting here at Miami and that’s what we are all about,” Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal said. “Moral victories aren’t it, especially when you have opportunities. We gave ourselves an opportunity in the fourth quarter to have the ball and potentially tie or win the game. We came up short there as well. Do we see effort and better resiliency, yes? Are there very fixable, should not go sideways type situations? Yes. And do you address those directly and bluntly? Absolutely. There’s no sugarcoating it.”
Van Dyke had maybe his best collegiate game overall as a Hurricane. With his play, Miami was never out of this one, even though the home team never had the lead or a tie game against North Carolina.
What also helped Miami – particularly in the second half – was its elevated approach and generally positive body language throughout this one.
“I’m proud because the guys were grinding and they kept coming, no matter what. They really had the right attitude and right mentality, a really good pregame and really good physicality,” Cristobal said. “We just started playing assignment football and we stuck to it, and we showed discipline, which goes with it. That’s probably the best way to describe it. We showed more discipline in the second half and started executing at a higher level.”
When looking at the hard numbers, Miami actually outplayed North Carolina. The home team had the edge in first downs (30-22) and total yards (538-470), and penalties (3 for 30 yards; 8 for 61 yards).
But one thing that Miami wants to see is a better outcome in the running game.
As a team, the Hurricanes finished with 42 yards on 24 carries – an average of 1.8 yards per carry.
“The quarterback sneak didn’t go in,” Cristobal said. “The wide zone, running back cut inside, the three technique versus bare endzone with a wing is not supposed to happen. You’re supposed to stay outside. The pass at the end, obviously, they had eyes for it.”
Cristobal had more to say about the run game.
“We’re out of sync in the run game,” Cristobal said. “It’s not a matter of effort, but we’ve got to do a better job. We tried every which way to get the ball going on the ground – split zone, counter, power, wide zone. I mean, you name it. Then, Tyler got so hot that said, ‘let’s just go with it,’ and he did a really good job.”
North Carolina head coach Mack Brown noted the valiant effort that Miami put forth overall – especially in the second half.
“You have to congratulate Miami,” Brown said. “It’s amazing how young people fight so hard to win a football game. I’ve often said, whoever made scoreboards in some cases didn’t make it fair, because Miami didn’t lose the game, they just ran out of time. It was that kind of game.”
NEXT GAME FOR MIAMI: Away at Virginia Tech (2-4; 1-2 in ACC) on Saturday, Oct. 15; 12:30 p.m. kickoff on ESPN3
NEXT GAME FOR NORTH CAROLINA: Away at Duke (4-2; 1-1 in ACC) on Saturday, Oct. 15; 8 p.m. kickoff on ACC Network
PHOTO CREDITS: Chuck Bethel
