From the Ashes.

[Baze]

end this chise if you lose to the Gators

[Soapy]

Here we go

yessir!

end this chise if you lose to the Gators

oh boy

[Soapy]

‣ CFB 2024 Regular Season, Week 1 - Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida
(1-0, 0-0 ACC) #23 Miami Hurricanes at Florida Gators (0-1, 0-0 SEC)

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MIA | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 17
UF | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14

Miami outlasts Gators in The Swamp behind Hurricanes defense
It's only right that the first game of the season for the Miami Hurricanes as they enter Mario Cristobal's third and most pinnacle season as head coach of his alma mater ended with a knee.

Miami was able to survive three first half turnovers, down to its third string center, a rainy swamp and a late surge from the Florida Gators to beat their rivals 17-14 on Saturday to win their season opener on the road.

The Hurricanes completely outplayed the Gators, outgaining them by nearly two hundred yards but the turnovers -- including two interceptions from quarterback Cam Ward -- and some explosive second half plays from Florida's offense kept them in the game.

After a first half where neither team scored, Miami opened the second half with Damien Martinez' 10-yard touchdown, making up for his first half redzone fumble. Miami's defense would force a three-and-out, gifting the Hurricanes offense a chance to extend the lead but they would punt the ball right back, leading to a 41-yard run by Montrell Johnson Jr. after Graham Mertz converted on third down with a sixteen yard completion to Elijhah Badger on the previous play.

Mertz would score on a quarterback keeper three plays later, set up by a 23-yard completion to Chimere Dike. Mertz was mostly bottled up but did finish the game with 204 yards and two total touchdowns with no turnovers, continuing his streak of clean football from last season.

Miami responded with a methodical, eleven play drive that included a fourth-and-one conversion from Martinez and ended with Martinez finding the endzone from two yard out. The Hurricanes would extend their lead with a 49-yard field goal from Andre Borregales to make it a two possession game with 2:14 remaining but right before the two minute timeout, Mertz found Eugene Wilson III for a 75-yard catch and run touchdown to give Florida a chance.

The Gators defense would come short, allowing Jacolby George to catch a screen pass on third and seven and taking it twenty-eight yards to seal the victory for Cristobal and the Hurricanes.

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Scoring Summary
Quarter 1
No scores

Quarter 2
No scores

Quarter 3
Damien Martinez, 10 Yd run (7:35)
Graham Mertz, 5 Yd run (0:55)

Quarter 4
Damien Martinez, 3 Yd run (8:44)
Andre Borregales, 49 Yd FG (2:09)
Eugene Wilson III 75 Yd pass from Graham Mertz (1:53)

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Player Stats
QB Cam Ward: 28-42, 332 yds, 2 INT
QB Graham Mertz: 12-23, 204 yds, TD

HB Damien Martinez: 22 att, 82 yds, 2 TD, fumble (lost)
HB Mark Fletcher: 8 att, 12 yds, 4 rec, 31 yds
HB Montrell Johnson Jr: 14 att, 52 yds, fumble (out of bounds)

WR Xavier Restrepo: 10 rec, 132 yds
WR Sam Brown: 4 rec, 54 yds
WR Ray Ray Joseph: 4 rec, 47 yds
WR Eugene Wilson III: 4 rec, 92 yds, TD

LB Wesley Bissainthe: 4 tkl, 4 TFL, 0.5 sack
DT Marley Cook: 3 tkl, 3 TFL, 0.5 sack
LB Shemar James: 17 tkl, 2 TFL
CB Devin Moore: 15 tkl
CB Jason Marshall Jr: 4 tkl, INT
S Asa Turner: 4 tkl, TFL, INT

[Soapy]

Week 1 Top Stories
1. West Virginia pulls a stunner at home against heavily favored Penn State, taking down the Nittany Lions 20-12
2. No. 1 Georgia falls to rival No. 17 Clemson in Atlanta despite 150-yard performance from Dillon Bell
3. No. 8 Notre Dame topples No. 24 Texas A&M in convincing 45-17 win
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Week 1 ACC Results
BC 24- FSU 6
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Week 2 ACC Schedule
Virginia (1-0, 0-0) at Wake Forest (1-0, 0-0)
Georgia Tech (1-1, 0-1) at Syracuse (1-0, 0-0)
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Week 2 Notable Games
Arkansas (1-0, 0-0) at #16 Oklahoma State (1-0, 0-0)
USF (1-0, 0-0) at #5 Alabama (1-0, 0-0)
#2 Texas (1-0, 0-0) at #8 Michigan (1-0, 0-0)
#21 NC State (1-0, 0-0) at #14 Tennessee (1-0, 0-0)
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Players of the Week
QB Rocco Becht (Iowa State): W 77-3 vs. Drake - 31-43, 342 yds, 7 TD, 9 att, 62 yds, TD
DT Payton Zdroik (Air Force): W 30-15 vs. Duquesne - 7 tkl, sack, FF, 2 FR
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WR Jordan Hudson (SMU): W 42-14 vs. Houston Christian - 11 rec, 150 yds, 2 TD, 2 att, 77 yds, TD
OLB David Bailey (Stanford): W 28-19 vs. TCU - 10 tkl, 3 sacks

[six7]

wow u got lucky that cpu glitched on that INT... shoulda been a pick 6

[Baze]

most definitely shit the bed

[Soapy]

Miami has a chance to win big this year, what does that mean for their recruiting class?
Eddie Fernandez -- 247 Sports Miami Insider

Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal landed a top ten class in his first full year as Miami's coach despite a losing record and then followed it up with a top-five class even with the disappointing end to the 2023 season.

Cristobal and his staff have shown an ability to attract and land talented players, even amidst the program's struggle as he looks to stack classes and load up on talent. The Hurricanes barely survived disaster against the Gators in Gainesville in week one but with the softer underbelly of their schedule coming up with Florida A&M, Ball State and a potential trap game against USF, let's set the table for what might be Cristobal's best class yet at Miami.

Quarterback
Titus Willis [QB #29]: 6'1", 202lbs | Lilburn, GA | 4-star | Miami, Auburn, Minnesota, Indiana, Louisville

The one thing Cristobal and his staff, under both former offensive coordinator Josh Gattis and current play caller Shannon Dawson, haven't been able to accomplish on the high school recruiting trail is land an elite arm. They came very close to sealing the deal with Air Noland last year but he's in Columbus, along with another top target in receiver Jeremiah Smith (more on that later).

They've landed some nice development pieces in Emory Williams and Judd Anderson and they were able to sign Cam Ward from the transfer portal but there is still that lingering question on if Cristobal, due to his reputation as a run-first guy, will be able to land the top arms coming out of high school.

Georgia's Titus Willis falls somewhere in between Noland and the likes of Williams and Anderson as he's not an elite arm but he's probably more college ready than both Williams and Anderson were at this stage of their development, even with Williams winning ACC games as a true freshman last year. He's a good athlete and a playmaker on the perimeter when he's able to get outside of the pocket and make things happen.

He's a Georgia kid so taking him away from an SEC school like Auburn is going to be tough but the Hurricanes are in a really good position with him as he heads into his senior season.

Running back
Maurice Rugamba [HB #10]: 6'0", 232lbs | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 4-star | Miami, Florida State, Florida, Ole Miss

Mark Fletcher wasn't very efficient in his return from a foot injury against Florida in the opener, being held to twelve yards on eight carries but he promises to have a major role in the Hurricanes offense behind Damien Martinez and showed plenty of flashes last year as a true freshman.

Rugamba, who was Fletcher's backup at American Heritage, is a very similar prospect with his blend of size, speed and balance as a runner. This is a Florida battle with all three heavily involved in his recruitment and one that could potentially come down to the wire but Miami is off to a good start with the win over the Gators.

Wide receiver
Miguel Escobar [WR #25]: 6'3", 191lbs | Palm Beach Gardens, FL | 4-star | Miami, UCF
Eric Incoom [WR #61]: 5'9", 204lbs | Pompano Beach, FL | 4-star | Miami, Georgia, UCF

The Hurricanes still need a legit WR1 on the outside and they tried last year to land Jeremiah Smith, the all-word talent from their backyard but he followed the footsteps of many great receivers before him and headed to the Buckeyes. Escobar isn't that kind of a prospect, nowhere close, but he does have the athletic profile of a future stud on the outside at six-foot-three with sub 11 times on the 100-meter as a track athlete.

Eric Incoom has all of the makings to be Xavier Restrepo with his thick lower half, his work ethic and his reliability as a receiver. Similar to Restrepo, Incoom does a variety of things for Blanche Ely at the high school and has shown the ability to make tough, contested catches.

Tight end
Kevin Pujals [TE #11]: 6'2", 254lbs | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 4-star | Miami, Florida State

The Hurricanes have a lot of young talented players in that tight end room with Elijah Lofton, Riley Williams and Jackson Carver who all bring something different to the table and so does Kevin Pujals.

He's not as tall as Will Mallory but he's a similar athlete in terms of his ability to create separation and reach top end speed. He's more of an oversized receiver than a true inline tight end at this point in his development but with his frame at 254 pounds, if Pujals becomes a willing blocker, he should improve at Miami if the Canes are able to land him. Florida State is involved in that recruitment and have him at the top of their board as well.

Offensive line
George Robledo [OT #6]: 6'6", 314lbs | Miami, FL | 4-star | Miami, Florida State, Texas A&M, UCF
Richard Cookus [OT #12]: 6'4", 289lbs | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 4-star | Miami, Florida State, Florida, Auburn

It's a good year for offensive linemen in South Florida so expect heavy competition for two of the best in George Robledo and Richard Cookus who both offer positional flexibility with their ability to play on either tackle spots.

The season-ending injury to Zach Carpenter and the in-game injury to Ryan Rodriguez, who Cristobal confirmed is expected to play against Florida A&M, revealed the lack of depth at the center position so they'll likely need to tack on some more bodies at some point this cycle, perhaps in the transfer portal.

Defensive line
Kevin Yeboah [DT #3]: 6'1", 288lbs | Oxford, AL | 5-star | Miami, Alabama, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Florida State, Ole Miss
Walt Coffey [OLB #3]: 6'4", 256lbs | Opelika, AL | 5-star | Miami, Auburn, Clemson, Alabama, Ole Miss, Florida State
Tim McCracken [DT #18]: 6'5", 296lbs | Fort Myers, FL | 4-star | Miami, Florida
Marshall Kearns [ATH #17]: 6'6", 272lbs | Fort Myers, FL | 4-star | Miami, Florida State
Doug Beans [DE #7]: 6'3", 274lbs | Tampa, FL | 4-star | Miami, North Carolina, UCF, Florida
Dan Mintze [DT #22]: 6'3", 287lbs | North Palm Beach, FL | 4-star | Miami, UCF

Miami went whale hunting last year with a very good defensive line class, led by five-stars Justin Scott and Marquise Lightfoot. Instead of resting on their laurels, Miami is once again going after some elite guys up front and with good reason after last week's dominating performance in the trenches against the Gators.

There might be some debate about Kevin Yeboah's high ranking, given his limited size, but he's been uber productive in a competitive class at Alabama and the motor is there at 288-pounds to make up for his lack of size.

The rest of the board look the part of your Reuben Bains and Akheem Mesidor as the Canes' coaching staff certainly seems to have found a type they like on the defensive line with strong, thicker built guys that are able to power their way to the quarterback.

Linebacker
James Fernandez [ILB #3]: 6'3", 234lbs | Miami, FL | 5-star | Miami, Georgia Tech, Florida, Auburn
Jacques Turk [ILB #4]: 5'11", 226lbs | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 4-star | Miami, UCF

If Miami is able to seal the deal with both James Fernandez and Jacques Turk -- and they are a long ways from doing that -- they have the potential to field the best linebacking duo that the team has had since Shaq Quarterman and Michael Pinckney.

Their playing style gel so well with Turk being your ideal WILL linebacker with his range and instincts while Fernandez is your prototype MIKE linebacker that is coming downhill and shutting down an opponent's inside run game.

Secondary
Kyrie Ebiketie [CB #2]: 6'0", 193lbs | Seffner, FL | 5-star | Miami, Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama, Florida, Kansas State
Denzel Major [FS #2]: 5'11", 217lbs | Bradenton, FL [IMG] | 4-star | Miami, UCF, Alabama
Tommy Stacy [CB #9]: 6'2", 191lbs | Miami, FL | 4-star | Miami, Alabama, Florida State, Florida
Kasey Havner [SS #6]: 6'0", 218lbs | Deerfield Beach, FL | 4-star | Miami, Georgia, NC State, UCF
Elias Raines [CB #15]: 6'2", 177lbs | Miami, FL | 4-star | Miami, Nebraska, Ole Miss

The offensive line was the huge focus in 2023 when the Hurricanes landed two five-star offensive linemen and they shifted to the defensive line last year, also landing two five-stars. The focus this cycle is the secondary and with good reason as outside of Darryl Porter Jr and Meesh Powell, the Hurricanes have a very unproven group of guys out there right now.

They can add some instant impact players this cycle in players like Kyrie Ebiketie, the second ranked prospect in the country. The only debate around Ebiketie is if he's a better safety than corner but wherever you play him, he's going to be a game changer at the next level and the Hurricanes have plenty of competition for his signature.

[Soapy]

wow u got lucky that cpu glitched on that INT... shoulda been a pick 6

to be fair, they also robbed me of a pick six on a dropped INT but yeah

most definitely shit the bed

ngl, i played pretty tight that game especially with the house rules of not being able to see the play art. time to let cam cook.

[Captain Canada]

Not the best start but at least you won, that's all that matters at the end of the day

[Soapy]

Not the best start but at least you won, that's all that matters at the end of the day

good starting point but yeah, the running game didn't go off like I thought they might