Week 4 Top Stories
1. How much will Ohio State rise in the rankings after beating Texas in Columbus.
2. Troy Stellato goes off for 193 yards and three touchdowns as his Heisman case improves.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 4 ACC Results
CUSE 35 - PITT 27
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 5 ACC Schedule
Virginia (3-1, 0-0) at Louisville (3-0, 0-0)
Wake Forest (1-3, 0-1) at Duke (2-1, 0-0)
#7 Virginia Tech (4-0, 0-0) at Georgia Tech (3-0, 0-0)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 5 Notable Games
#13 Washington (3-0, 1-0) at #4 Michigan (4-0, 1-0)
#6 Texas A&M (3-0, 0-0) at #22 Missouri (2-0, 0-0)
#24 Texas (2-2, 0-0) at #14 Georgia (1-1, 0-0)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Players of the Week
WR Troy Stellato (Clemson): W 42-10 vs. San Jose State - 9 rec, 193 yds, 3 TD
DE Will Heldt (Purdue): W 34-10 vs. Ball State - 9 tkl, 5 sacks
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WR Troy Stellato (Clemson): W 42-10 vs. San Jose State - 9 rec, 193 yds, 3 TD
LB Eldrick Robinson II (Wake Forest): W 35-10 vs. FCS - 6 tkl, 3 sacks
Hurricanes' recruiting class skyrockets to the top of the rankings with slew of commitments
Eddie Fernandez -- 247 Sports Miami Insider
Miami's coaching staff utilized their bye week to make a strong push on the recruiting front, landing four commitments this week to jump to the nation's top ranked recruiting class with a sizeable lead over the field.
The Hurricanes received commitments from offensive guard Paul Bach, the top ranked guard in the country, a top-100 prospect in cornerback Manuel Arcuri, four-star receiver Troy McMahan and four-star linebacker Alonzo DuBois.
Bach was a frequent visitor to Coral Gables this summer and was rumored to be a silent commit. The Tallahassee native appeared to be waiting for Florida State to make a push before making his decision but ultimately decided to head south to play for the Hurricanes. Miami also dipped into northern Florida to land Jacksonville's DuBois, who they think has the potential to be a versatile linebacker at the next level. Despite being ranked inside the top-200, DuBois was a bit of polarizing prospect with not much interest from the other top in-state schools as some view him as a tweener between a safety and a linebacker. Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech were also in the picture
Miami was able to sign two of Dade/Broward County's best players in Arcuri and McMahan who faced off earlier this year when Miami Norland took on American Heritage. It was a back and forth matchup with McMahan getting the slight edge as he was able to rely on his physicality to overwhelm Arcuri at times. The coaching staff love the idea of pairing McMahan, who is a bigger bodied, more physical outside receiver with five-star Davin Momah who is more of a down the field threat.
Bye Week Report: How much can be derived from Miami's 4-0 start? Manny Ledo -- The Miami Herald Sports Columnist
Two things can be true. The Miami Hurricanes are undefeated and look like one of the country's best football teams. Three of their four wins have also come from teams that a month into the season, have yet to win a football game.
The Hurricanes top three ranking will continue to be scrutinized until the end of October when they travel to Tallahassee to face another top-three foe in Florida State and follow it up the next week with a home stand against Louisville, which could very well be ranked inside the top fifteen by then.
Until then, Miami's accomplishments will continue to be overlooked and rationalized away and with good reason as the Hurricanes strength of schedule, to no fault of their own, has been weak. Syracuse was supposed to be a solid ACC team but that doesn't appear to be the case. Back to back games against Florida and Notre Dame, when this was scheduled years ago, looked like a death trap. They allowed thirteen points between both games, scoring seventy six points.
The upshot here is that even with this great start, Miami still has room for improvement particularly in the running game where can afford to be more consistent. The passing game has heavily relied on their top three pass catchers in Jeremiah Smith, Mario Williams and Elijah Arroyo. No one else has over eight receptions so once that fourth receiver emerges, Miami's offense could take it to another level.
Defensively, Marquise Lightfoot and Armando Blount should continue to improve with more and more reps as they were thrusted into the starting lineup following the loss of Tyler Baron. They've combined for 5.5 sacks through two games and with Malik Bryant starting to come online as well with two sacks, the trio of young players might be able to mitigate the loss of Baron.
Team Leaders
Passing: Nicholas Vattiato (67% completion, 1165 yards, 12 TD, 5 INT, 161.3 QB rating)
Rushing: Mark Fletcher Jr. (243 yards, 4.7 ypc, TD)
Receiving: Jeremiah Smith (29 receptions, 464 yards, 4 TD)
Defense: Rueben Bain Jr. (15 tackles, 11 TFL, 6 sacks)
PFF Offensive Line Grade
LT Jalen Rivers: 258 snaps played, 80.6 PFF grade
LG Matthew McCoy: 278 snaps played, 67.9 PFF grade
C Ryan Rodriguez: 273 snaps played, 64.9 PFF grade
RG Anez Cooper: 278 snaps played, 69.7 PFF grade
RT Francis Mauigoa: 279 snaps played, 78.4 PFF grade
Team Rankings
Points Per Game: 39.3 PPG
Total Offense: 461.8 YPG
Rushing Offense: 148.5 YPG
Passing Offense: 313 YPG
Scoring Defense: 7.5 PAPG
Total Defense: 304 YAPG
Rushing Defense: 68.3 YAPG
Passing Defense: 235 YAPG
Turnover Differential: +2
Remaining Schedule
vs. Florida Atlantic (1-3)
vs. #15 NC State (1-2)
vs. Stanford (2-1)
at #2 Florida State (4-0)
vs. Louisville (3-0)
OPEN
at Pittsburgh (2-1)
at #7 Virginia Tech (4-0)
at SMU (1-2)
Midseason Award - Most Valuable Player
Miami's defense is one of the nation's best and it starts up front with Rueben Bain Jr. who just gets better every year.
Bain leads the team with eleven tackles for loss and six sacks with his impact being even greater than his counting stats. Everything Miami does defensively is based on their ability to get pressure up front with just rushing four guys and when they do bring pressure, it's almost unfair to see offensive tackles try to block Bain one-on-one.
Midseason Award - Most Improved Player
Redshirt freshman Adarius Hayes has emerged as one of Miami's best players on defense, second on the team with twenty-nine tackles, trailing only the veteran Wesley Bissainthe.
Hayes is also tied for third with five tackles for loss which is impressive considering that he's more of a coverage linebacker than a down hill player but Hayes' athleticism, quick trigger and instinctive play stands out and has been key in Miami's defense faring better against tight ends this year.
Another name on the defense for consideration is Markeith Williams who has an interception this year and was a bit of a forgotten name among Canes fans as a redshirt junior that's been a backup for the previous three seasons.
Williams has helped steadied Miami's secondary which doesn't allow a lot of explosive plays.
Midseason Award - Best Freshman
Former five-star linebacker James Fernandez has seven tackles and four tackles for loss in a limited role while defensive tackle Kevin Yeboah has a sack. Eric Incoom has fielded all of Miami's punts with a 66-yarder in there.
But the winner is kicker James Rutter who has made all five of his field goal attempts, including a 43-yarder, and all twenty extra points.
Midseason Superlative - Most Disappointing Unit
The offensive line can stand to improve after down games against USF and Notre Dame where the line's average rating was below a sixty-five.
Miami wants to pummel teams into submission late in games with their running back and so far, they haven't been able to do that consistently and it starts up front.
American Heritage 4-star LB Isaiah Rugamba keeps it in the family and commits to Miami
Eddie Fernandez -- 247 Sports Miami Insider
The brother of Miami freshman running back Maurice Rugamba is following in his older brother's footsteps as four-star linebacker Isaiah Rugamba has committed to the University of Miami.
Rugamba is the third ranked outside linebacker in the country and has been a stalworth for American Heritage's defense since his sophomore year. A downhill player, Rugamba is a forceful striker with the physicality (6-3, 236) to match his mentality. He'll need to improve in coverage if he's going to be an every down player in Miami's defense at MIKE or WILL but he could play a similar role to Malik Bryant as a blitzing linebacker for when Miami does play with three linebackers.
Rugamba's twin brother, Felix, is a five-star defensive end that has been a long time Notre Dame commit.
Miami might not be done on the trail as they are trending in a 'very positive direction' with five-stars Juan Woodside, Shaun Turner and Deron Tryon who were on campus this past week while the Hurricanes were on a bye. Miami is pushing hard to land all three and believe that they are in a good position to do so in the near future as all players have expressed wanting to make a decision before the playoffs of their respective senior seasons.
Week 5 Top Stories
1. Georgia drops to Texas as another disappointing season on the horizon for the Bulldogs.
2. Drew Allar throws four touchdowns as Penn State escapes test from Iowa.
3. Michigan falls out of the top five with 27-21 loss to Washington.
4. Conner Weigman stars in Texas A&M's win over Missouri.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 5 ACC Results
LOU 31 - UVA 21 | WAKE 28 - DUKE 24 | VT 49 - GT 10
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 6 ACC Schedule
#14 NC State (1-2, 0-0) at Pittsburgh (2-1, 0-1)
Stanford (2-1, 0-0) at North Carolina (1-2, 0-0)
Virginia (3-2, 0-1) at Duke (2-2, 0-1)
#6 Virginia Tech (5-0, 1-0) at #2 Florida State (4-0, 1-0)
SMU (2-2, 0-0) at #17 Boston College (2-1, 0-0)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 6 Notable Games
#4 Penn State (3-0, 1-0) at #7 Ohio State (3-0, 1-0)
#8 Oregon (2-1, 0-0) at Iowa (2-1, 0-1)
#9 Texas Tech (3-0, 0-0) at Kansas State (3-1, 1-1)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Players of the Week
WR Charlie Becker (Indiana): W 35-14 vs. FCS East - 12 rec, 168 yds, 3 TD
CB Ricky Lee III (UAB): W 31-13 at Navy - 4 tkl, 2 INT, TD
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QB Kyron Drones (Virginia Tech): W 49-19 at Georgia Tech - 20-25, 328 yds, 3 TD, INT, 8 car, 40 yds, 2 TD
S Benjamin Perry (Louisville): W 31-21 vs. Virginia - 4 tkl, sack, INT, TD
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Top 247 Five-Star Commitments
#18 Felix Rugamba [LE #1]: 6'5", 260lbs | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 5-star | University of Notre Dame
#23 Davon Momah [WR #3]: 6'3", 205lbs | Tampa, FL | 5-star | University of Miami
#29 Keke Hagg [QB #4]: 6'2", 214lbs | Clearwater, FL | 5-star | University of Miami
#30 J.C. Glickowski [ILB #2]: 6'1", 224lbs | Victor, NY | 5-star | University of Notre Dame
#31 Oscar Estrade [RT #6]: 6'6", 291lbs | Dallas, TX | 5-star | University of Oklahoma
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Notable Florida Recruiting Commitments
#18 Felix Rugamba [LE #1]: 6'5", 260lbs | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 5-star | University of Notre Dame
#23 Davon Momah [WR #3]: 6'3", 205lbs | Tampa, FL | 5-star | University of Miami
#29 Keke Hagg [QB #4]: 6'2", 214lbs | Clearwater, FL | 5-star | University of Miami
#40 Paul Bach [LG #1]: 6'2", 291lbs | Tallahassee, FL | 4-star | University of Miami
#51 Derek McClendon [RT #8]: 6'8", 319lbs | Tampa, FL | 4-star | University of Ohio State
#82 Darrius Keyes [RG #4]: 6'3", 306lbs | Jacksonville, FL | 4-star | University of Miami
#93 Manuel Arcuri [CB #6]: 6'2", 195lbs | Miami, FL | 4-star | University of Miami
#119 Troy McMahan [WR #18]: 6'2", 219lbs | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 4-star | University of Miami
#144 George Cotton [HB #15]: 6'2", 230lbs | Lake Wales, FL | 4-star | University of Georgia
#170 Alonzo DuBois [ILB #9]: 5'11", 229lbs | Jacksonville, FL | 4-star | University of Miami
#179 Isaiah Rugamba [LOLB #3]: 6'3", 236lbs | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 4-star | University of Miami
#180 Javier Bowie [TE #18]: 6'6", 239lbs | Hallandale, FL | 4-star | University of Miami
#187 Jeremiah McGinest [SS #9]: 5'11", 217lbs | Danverport, FL | 4-star | Auburn University
#198 Kevin Vizcaino [LE #5]: 6'3", 297lbs | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 4-star | University of Oregon
Hurricanes add a couple of five-stars in IMG Academy's Juan Woodside, defensive tackle Shaun Turner
Eddie Fernandez -- 247 Sports Miami Insider
The University of Miami continues to dominate on the recruiting trail with commitments from five-star tight end Juan Woodside and five-star defensive tackle Shaun Turner as Miami now have four five-stars in the boat for their 2026 recruiting class.
Woodside, who is teammates with five-star Miami commit QB Keke Hagg at IMG Academy, is the fifth ranked player in the country and is a two-way star for the Ascenders. A gifted athlete at six-foot-five and 240 pounds, Miami's staff likes him at tight end while other programs prefer Woodside at defensive end. He's a natural pass catcher with good size for the position and the physical profile to develop into a good enough blocker once Miami's coaching staff cleans up his technique.
The Hurricanes continue to build up their trenches with Shaun Turner, the five-star prospect out of Louisiana that they were able to wrangle away from Alabama, LSU and Florida State. Turner has a lot of similarities with former Miami Hurricane Leonard Taylor as a pocket disrupting interior pass rusher who has the required strength to also be stout against the run in the middle. At six-foot-five, Turner has the frame to get into the high 310s by the end of tenure at Miami and is a potential day one NFL selection.
