The Hurricanes opened the 2024 season not with a cupcake opponent but with an in-state rival.
The No. 19 Hurricanes went into the Swamp and looked as good as they ever have under Mario Cristobal, rolling to a 41-17 win that was pretty much sealed in the third quarter.
It was a jubilant beginning to the 2024 campaign. Here are 10 things we learned from the season opener:
1. Cam Ward is that guy
Former Miami and current NFL tight end Brevin Jordan summed Cam Ward’s performance up in a post on X on Saturday evening.
“I’ve seen enough,” Jordan wrote. “Cam Ward IS LIKE THAT.”
Ward is definitely “like that,” (which means he is very good, if you don’t keep up with slang). In his first game at Miami, Ward completed 26 of 35 passes for 385 yards and three scores. He threw one interception but recovered and finished the game strong. Pro Football Focus gave Ward a team-leading 90.9 offensive grade in the win.
Ward made the game look easy. When he needed to escape the pocket, he broke away from defenders and strolled out of bounds after gaining first downs. He threw dots to receivers over and over again. He put touch on passes when he needed to. It was not a completely flawless game, but it was a stellar debut.
“He’s ridiculous,” wide receiver Xavier Restrepo said. “He’s amazing. He’s a ballplayer. We’re super lucky to have him.”
2. Xavier Restrepo strikes again
Restrepo showed his ability last year, earning All-ACC honors after racking up more than 1,000 receiving yards. He picked right back up on Saturday, making six catches for 112 yards and a touchdown.
Cristobal said Restrepo keeps getting better and that he has a “sixth sense” for knowing what is going on around him. He made an excellent catch early in the game where he bent backward to make a catch. He broke a tackle with a spin move that looked like it came straight out of EA Sports College Football 25.
Restrepo even got a chance to throw a pass on a designed trick play. Sam Brown Jr. just could not haul in the catch.
“That was a seed, low-key,” Ward said. “Sam’s got to one-hand that one for him. But he threw a good ball.”
Restrepo was former Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke’s favorite target. Now he will likely be the same for Ward.
“Nothing surprises me about X,” Ward said. “He shows up every day. It starts in practice. Y’all see the plays that he made in practice. It’s remarkable.”
3. O-line dominant in win
In their tenure at Miami, Cristobal and offensive line coach Alex Mirabal have turned the Hurricanes’ offensive line into a major strength.
Ward had all day to throw on many of his dropbacks. Miami had a 76 pass-blocking grade from PFF.
Miami did not completely overpower Florida in the running game, but they did score a pair of touchdowns on the ground.
“We knew the defensive line that we were going to face today was going to be a tough one,” offensive lineman Jalen Rivers said. “They’re a great team, they’re a great front, they’re a great defense, and we were prepared for that.”
4. Secondary does its job
The Hurricanes’ secondary was the team’s biggest question mark entering the season, and Saturday was supposed to be one of their toughest tasks of the year. Florida quarterback Graham Mertz was one of the nation’s most accurate passers last year.
The combination of Daryl Porter Jr., Jadais Richard, Damari Brown and OJ Frederique Jr. at cornerback and Jaden Harris and Meesh Powell at safety did their job. They limited Mertz to a 55 percent completion percentage (which was lower than any game Mertz played last year) and forced him to throw an interception.
Mertz eventually left the game with a concussion, but his replacement, touted freshman D.J. Lagway, did not fare better. He completed 3 of 6 passes and threw an interception.
Miami earned an 83.5 coverage grade from PFF. Powell led the way with an 89 coverage grade.
“I thought we played well,” Powell said. “There were a few plays we didn’t play perfect, and that’s what we strive for: perfection every single day. So we didn’t play perfect, but we made some plays.”
5. Mark Fletcher Jr. returns
Mark Fletcher Jr. had a choice on where he wanted to play college ball. The running back backed off a commitment to Ohio State and narrowed his choices to two schools: Florida or Miami.
He got his chance to play at the Swamp on Saturday, but he was a member of the visiting team. He delivered with a pair of touchdowns.
What made it more special was Fletcher spent the offseason recovering from multiple injuries that kept him out for spring practice and limited him early in fall. He ended his first game back with 23 yards on seven catches but scored twice in the victory.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone shine as bright as he did while going through his rehab process,” Restrepo said. “Every day he came with a smile on his face and words of wisdom to give to us.”
6. Even without Rueben Bain Jr., defensive line thrives
Rueben Bain Jr. left Saturday’s game with an injury in the first quarter (he is expected back in the next couple of weeks). But the Hurricanes just kept rolling.
The defensive line excelled in the victory. They racked up 1.5 sacks and had seven hurries.
The line also kept the Gators’ rushing game in check. Florida star running back Montrell Johnson broke off one 71-yard touchdown run. Otherwise, UF rushed for 68 yards on 27 carries.
“We hate to have a guy like that out for — it’s going to be a short time — but we’ve got to keep rolling with the punches,” defensive lineman Tyler Baron said. “Next man up-type mentality. We just regrouped and kept going.”
7. Tight ends get involved
Miami’s tight ends did not get involved in the passing game much last year. The returning tight ends combined for 17 catches for 145 yards and one touchdown in 2023.
They nearly matched that in Week 1 this year, racking up 136 receiving yards Saturday. Cam McCormick, a ninth-year veteran who was featured on “College Gameday” on Saturday, caught the first touchdown of the season in the first quarter. He did not catch a touchdown all last year.
Elijah Arroyo, who has missed most of the last two years due to an ACL tear, returned with a vengeance Saturday. He was Miami’s No. 2 pass-catcher, notching 89 on four catches. Freshman Elija Lofton, who has been compared to Deebo Samuel, had two catches for 38 yards (35 on one catch late in the game). Riley Williams did not have a catch but got in on the action with an onside-kick recovery.
8. Swamp drained
Many of the questions directed at coaches and players from reporters this week dealt with the hostile nature of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The Swamp lived up to its reputation early in the game, reaching over 100 decibels in the press box.
It did not bother Miami.
“It wasn’t (the loudest),” Ward said. “I played at USC. USC wasn’t packed, and it was louder than this. I played at Oregon. It was louder than this. The PAC-12 gets misspoke for. The PAC-12, that’s where I believe real football is played.”
Ward added: “I would say advice for the fans: If you’re going to be loud, you’ve got to be loud when we’re huddling. You can’t just be loud once we break the huddle. By that time, there’s no point. We hear the play, we communicated already.”
The Hurricanes made few mistakes. They committed just two penalties, and none of them were procedural penalties like a false start or delay of game. Miami was simply unbothered.
By the end of the game, most Florida fans left, leaving Miami fans to celebrate and serenade Cristobal with chants of “Mario! Mario!”
9. New players jell immediately
Miami is a full participant in the new college football culture, and Cristobal has overhauled the roster on a yearly basis.
This offseason, the Hurricanes added 41 players: 27 freshmen or junior college prospects and 14 transfers. Some of them arrived in time for the spring, like Ward, Powell, JoJo Trader and Zaquan Patterson. Others, like Damien Martinez, Tyler Baron and Justin Scott, arrived in the summer.
You would not know how many players were playing in their first game with the team. They clicked immediately, and there did not appear to be any communication issues.
“That’s all credit to coach Cristobal and the recruiting staff,” Powell said. “They have to bring the right kind of guys. You can’t just always bring any type of guy. You’ve got to bring a certain type of guy to fit the program, as well as us being a player-led program, as well. There are good leaders in here like Anez Cooper, Jalen Rivers, that showed me the standard.”
10. Miami-Florida rivalry is alive and well
After the clock hit zero, a fan caught a video of Cristobal mocking the Gator chomp before breaking it over his knee. Cristobal, a former Hurricanes player himself, knows how much this rarely played rivalry means.
“This is a big rivalry game for us,” Cristobal said. “I never got to play in a game like this. Miami hasn’t been here in 16 years and hasn’t won in 20-plus years. So, you think this game was big? You think the amount of animosity and hatred, bad blood between the fan bases, you think it amped it up a little bit? Come on, it was through the roof. It was off the charts.”
Jacolby George was doing Gator chomps throughout the game. Anez Cooper mentioned during the week that seeing the “Gator Flop” got him excited to play Florida. UM fans tagged Gainesville’s famous 34th street wall and chanted, “S-E-C!” as their team rolled to a win. This game means a lot to people.
Miami will play Florida again next year at Hard Rock Stadium. It will surely be a heated environment.
“I’m just glad to say we beat Florida,” Rivers said. “Being where I’m from … the Jacksonville area, you’ve got a lot of Gators. You’ve got a lot of Seminoles fans. You’ve got a lot of Hurricanes, too. Georgia, even. But I’m glad I’m at the better Florida school.”
https://t.co/LRJVsN9HYZ pic.twitter.com/gKFfcw19k6
— Xavier RASPtrepo (@cover2nobueno) September 1, 2024
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