Miami gets back on track with 45-20 win over rival Virginia Tech
Many wondered if Miami was deserving of a top-ten spot in the latest College Football Playoff rankings following their second loss of the season, loss of receiver Jeremiah Smith for the season and relative unproven talent at the quarterback position.
Miami answered that question, emphatically, on Saturday with their 45-20 beatdown on Virginia Tech.
The Hurricanes were the ones that looked like unbeaten giants in Lane Stadium, weathering early feistiness from the Hokies and quarterback Kyron Drones who extended drives with his legs to make it a tie ball game at the end of the first half.
Miami was able to bottle Drones up in the second half with a dedicated spy on some plays while Miami's pass rusher, led by Rueben Bain Jr, began to take over. Bain finished the game with five tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks while Miami's linebackers intercepted Drones three times, including a pick-six by by captain Wesley Bissainthe.
Bain is now 0.5 sack away from breaking both the ACC record and the Miami record for most sacks in a season as he currently leads the nation with 16.5 sacks, tied with Michigan's Lugard Edokpayi.
Offensively, Virginia Tech had no answers for Miami's rushing attack with Mark Fletcher rushing for 117 yards while the Hurricanes as a team rushed for over 200 yards. Quarterback Emory Williams was also efficient, completing 80 percent of his passes and averaged nearly eleven yards per completion, peppering the Hokies defense with throws to Joshisa Trader (7 receptions, 82 yards), Mario Williams (5 receptions, 72 yards) and tight end Elijah Arroyo, who scored a touchdown. Scoring Summary Quarter 1 Mark Fletcher Jr, 2 Yd run (5:23) James Rutter, 45 Yd FG (0:40)
Quarter 2 Kyron Drones, 3 Yd run (8:19) Xayvion Turner-Bradshaw 51 Yd pass from Kyron Drones (1:36) Emory Williams, 7 Yd run (1:12) John Love, 60 Yd FG (0:10)
Quarter 3 Ray Ray Joseph 7 Yd pass from Emory Williams (9:32) John Love, 47 Yd FG (6:21) Jordan Lyle, 1 Yd run (1:32)
Quarter 4 Elijah Arroyo 12 Yd pass from Emory Williams (9:44) Wesley Bissainthe, returned interception 21 Yds (0:40) Player Stats QB Emory Williams: 24-30, 258 yds, 2 TD QB Kyron Drones: 24-36, 264 yds, TD, 3 INT, sacked 5 times
A viewer's guide to Miami's regular season finale against SMU Mustangs
Eddie Fernandez -- 247 Sports Miami Insider
Miami will kick off its last game of the 2025 regular season in Dallas when they take on the SMU Mustangs, who are riding a six-game winning streak that began with a one-point win over Clemson back in October.
The Hurricanes have plenty to play for on Saturday, including an ACC Championship Game appearance, some individual records and a clash against some familiar faces.
Win and you're in...
Miami has never won the ACC and they've only twice qualified to make the ACC Championship Game, most recently losing to Clemson in blowout fashion back in 2017.
Even last year, under the magical run with Cam Ward, the Hurricanes made the playoffs but failed to make it to the ACC Championship Game. Even with two conference losses this year, Miami can make it to the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte with a win over ACC leader SMU and with tie breakers over Florida State and Georgia Tech, they would be in position to take on either Virginia Tech, Florida State or Georgia Tech depending on how the Hokies game this week against Virginia plays out.
Not only would it be major to final get an ACC Championship, it would improve Miami's chances in the playoffs as they would get a first round bye and potentially avoid the likes of Georgia, USC or an ACC rematch in the first round.
Rueben Bain's Heisman Campaign
The junior defensive end needs just half a sack to tie the ACC record as well as the school record for most sacks in a single season. A more dominant performance would not only lock up several defensive awards for the Miami Central product but also push his name in Heisman voting.
A defensive player hasn't won the award in decades and the last finalist was oven ten years ago but if Miami can not only beat SMU and have Bain dominate in that game, it would give Bain one more game before the playoffs to showcase his talents on a major platform and increase his chances to win the Heisman.
Individual milestones
Mark Fletcher needs 96 rushing yards to break the 1,000-yard mark which hasn't been done by a Miami running back since 2017. Since the NC State game, Fletcher has rushed for at least 95 yards in five of Miami's last six games including rushing for over 100-yards in each of the past three games.
Justin Scott is 2.5 sacks shy of joining Bain and Marquise Lightfoot in the double-digit sack club, becoming the third Hurricane to do so this season which has never been done in school history. It's a tall task for an interior lineman and its unlikely to be done in one game but again, if Miami gets that extra game with the conference championship game on top of at least one playoff game, Scott's chances at that feat improve.
A 'revenge' game against Rhett Lashlee and Miami legacy
By all accounts, things ended amicably between former Miami offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee and the Hurricanes when he left the team to become the head coach at SMU. Lashlee left the Hurricanes right before Manny Diaz was fired and head coach Mario Cristobal was brought in so the two never crossed paths.
Several players since then have transferred from Miami to SMU, most of which have already graduated including running back Jaylan Knighton, wide receiver Keyshawn Smith and all-purpose back Brashard Smith. Again, these were kids that were likely not part of Miami's plans going forward under Cristobal so its not like Lashlee's poaching would have caused a rift between him and Cristobal.
While those transfers are gone, a familiar name will be playing for the Mustangs in R.J. Maryland, the talented tight end who is the son of Hurricane legend Russell Maryland. Maryland was Cristobal's brother's roommate when they were at Miami and Cristobal has compared current Miami defensive tackle Justin Scott to Maryland.
Mark Fletcher Jr, 2 Yd run (5:23)
Kyron Drones, 3 Yd run (8:19)
