Sports
D’Eriq King Throws for 325 Yards, 3 TDs in Miami’s 47-34 Win over Louisville
Wilfredo Lee/Associated PressMiami’s first ACC game of the year ended with a 47-34 victory over No. 18 Louisville in Cardinal Stadium on Saturday evening.Big plays buoyed Miami to victory, with the Hurricanes posting a pair of 75-yard touchdowns and a 47-yard score in the second half.Louisville scored four second-half touchdowns but could not keep pace…
Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press
Miami's first ACC game of the year ended with a 47-34 victory over No. 18 Louisville in Cardinal Stadium on Saturday evening.
Big plays buoyed Miami to victory, with the Hurricanes posting a pair of 75-yard touchdowns and a 47-yard score in the second half.
Louisville scored four second-half touchdowns but could not keep pace with the high-flying ‘Canes, who were led by quarterback D'Eriq King‘s 325 passing yards and three touchdowns.
The Hurricanes, who beat UAB 31-14 to open their season, are now 2-0. Louisville, which beat Western Kentucky 35-21 last Saturday, fell to 1-1.
Notable Performances
Miami QB D'Eriq King: 18-of-30, 325 passing yards, 3 TD
Miami RB Cam'Ron Harris: 9 carries, 134 rushing yards, 1 TD
Miami TE Brevin Jordan: 7 catches, 120 receiving yards, 1 TD
Louisville QB Malik Cunningham: 26-of-36, 307 passing yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
Louisville RB Javian Hawkins: 27 carries, 164 rushing yards, 1 TD
Louisville WR Tutu Atwell: 8 catches, 114 receiving yards, 2 TD
Big Plays Lead to Miami's Road Win
Explosive plays lead to wins, and Miami was no exception in its dominating victory over Louisville.
Such plays also destroy an opponent's momentum.
The Cardinals refused to give up after a first half where they fell down two scores in part because Miami kicker Jose Borregales, who is establishing himself as the Lou Groza Award front-runner, knocked home field goals of 48 and 57 yards to close the scoring before halftime.
Down 20-6, Louisville started the second half with a seven-play, 75-yard touchdown drive.
It was an impressive start for the Cardinals, but Miami had other plans, with Cam'Ron Harris taking one to the house from 75 yards to erase the home team's work:
ESPN College Football @ESPNCFB
MIAMI TAKES IT THE DISTANCE 💨 https://t.co/qAugUp8qlL
To Louisville's credit, the Cardinals bounced back with an 11-play, 74-yard drive capped by a Tutu Atwell six-yard touchdown catch.
However, Miami struck quickly once again. This time, Jaylan Knighton caught a pass from King and went 75 yards for the score.
Brody Logan @BrodyLogan
Jaylan Knighton practicing social distancing https://t.co/UngFO3P4gy
A breakdown in the Louisville defense certainly helped out, but Miami took advantage.
The Cardinals were left with next to no room for error due to Miami's penchant for back-breaking plays, and they could not keep pace.
A three-and-out after a drive that lost 11 yards led to a Miami field goal, and the Hurricanes held on from there.
Of course, they added one more big play to their resume in the form of a 47-yard touchdown pass from King to Brevin Jordan. That all but sealed the win to keep Miami undefeated.
Defensive Breakdowns Doom Louisville
Louisville has the offensive talent to be competitive in the ACC. Of note, the trio of wideout Tutu Atwell, quarterback Malik Cunningham and running back Javian Hawkins should guide Louisville to numerous scoring explosions.
However, the defense is a work in progress, as evidenced Saturday.
Miami gained 485 yards from scrimmage despite possessing the ball for just 21:59. In other words, the ‘Canes offense amassed roughly 22 yards per minute.
The Hurricanes committed zero turnovers, and they punted only three times.
Credit to Miami's offense, which played lights-out football and can make a case for being the ACC's second-best team behind Clemson.
But Louisville has to get to work. Numerous analysts recognized the Cardinals' defensive shortcomings, which included wide-open Hurricanes finding nothing but green to the end zone.
After the Harris touchdown run, Chris B. Brown of Smart Football tweeted: “The cornerback follows the motion, and then the defensive end/OLB jumps and the linebacker to that side both jump inside. Very unsound stuff.”
Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio brought up memories of Louisville's 45-13 loss to Kentucky last November, in which the Cardinals allowed 517 rushing yards.
Matt Jones @KySportsRadio
Louisville’s Defense reminds me of one I saw in the last game in Lexington last year
Stewart Mandel of The Athletic and Dominique Yates of the Louisville Courier-Journal also offered their takes.
Stewart Mandel @slmandel
I don't want to take anything away from Miami, but Louisville has had mind-boggling coverage busts on three of these TDs.
Dominique Yates @RealDYates
Louisville’s defense looks a lot like I did in my math classes – confused.
The road ahead doesn't get easier for Louisville thanks to its tough schedule, which features three straight road games against No. 25 Pitt, Georgia Tech and No. 7 Notre Dame up next. That doesn't leave much time for the defense to improve.
In other words, the onus might be on the offense for lights-out performances to guide Louisville to victories on their challenging road stretch.
What's Next?
Miami hosts archrival Florida State on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET, while Louisville will visit the Pittsburgh Panthers on Saturday at noon ET.
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