The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Wake Forest Demon Deacons 2024 edition

Miami bounces back with a big win to keep their ACC Championship Game and College Football Playoff hopes alive.

THAT’S HOW YOU PLAY!!!

Following their 2nd by week of the year, the Miami Hurricanes returned home to Hard Rock Stadium and beat the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 42-14 on Senior Day.

Mike Schiffman chimed in with his 3 stars, which you can see right here:

And now, let’s dive into The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

The Good

• A Win! Winning is hard, and I’m going to celebrate and enjoy every one of these.
• A 10 win season! Miami’s 2nd in the last 20 years, and first since 2017.
• A win in a playoff situation. Miami had to win to keep their ACC Championship game and College Football Playoff hopes alive, and they did.
• THE MIAMI HURRICANES DEFENSE!!!!!!! Before I go any further, shout-out to the D for an incredible game. After Wake scored on the first drive, Miami held the Demon Deacons to a paltry 2.36 yards per play the rest of the game. AND Miami only allowed 7 points on defense (the other score was on special teams). No matter what else is said, kudos for this incredible effort and performance, opponent be damned.
• RB Jordan Lyle. The freshman from Ft. Lauderdale came in during the second half and showed his explosive ability. 7 carries for 115 yards and a touchdown to put Miami’s lead out of reach for Wake.
• QB Cam Ward. A pedestrian performance for the standout signal caller: 27-38 passing (71% completions) for 280 yards with 2 TDs and an INT, along with 3 carries for -5 yards and a touchdown rushing.
• Updating the Cam Ward season stats: 268 for 399 passing (67.2% completions) for 3,774 yards with 34 TDs and 7 interceptions. He’s also added 177 yards and 4 TDs rushing, and 1 catch for 7 yards and 1 touchdown.
• With an early completion, Ward set the single-season passing yardage record at Miami.

• RBs Damien Martinez and Mark Fletcher combined for 22 carries for 118 yards.
• WR Jacolby George. 7 catches for 91 yards and 2 TDs in his final home game.
• TE Elijah Arroyo, who was also moved to X receiver at times. 6 catches for 79 yards.
• LB Francis “Kiko” Mauigoa. 12 tackles in his final home game.
• DL Akheem Mesidor. 7 tackles, a TFL, and a sack
• DB Meesh Powell. Now THIS is the player we thought we’d signed in the transfer portal. 3 tackles, 2 PBUs, a TFL, a Sack, and an interception, which he returned 77 yards for a touchdown. Powell was everywhere today. What a revelation.
• DL Rueben Bain with 3 tackles and a sack.
• DT Ahmad Moten with 2 tackles and a sack.
• LB Cameron “Bobby” Pruitt with a TFL and a fumble recovery
• S Dylan Day with a forced fumble on a kickoff return (recovered by Pruitt)
• K Andres Borregales. 2/2 on FGs and 4/4 on PATs.
• P Dylan Joyce. 40ypp on 3 kicks.
• Miami walked down the field for a 6 and a half minute, 84 yard touchdown drive to start the game. Cam Ward was 6/6 for 59 yards and the concluding touchdown on the drive.

• More importantly, Miami went 2/2 on 3rd downs on the opening drive, setting the stage for Miami going 7/12 on 3rd down on the day.
• Meesh Powell with one of the biggest plays of the year. A 77 yard pick-6 on a tunnel screen to give Miami some early breathing room.

• Rueben Bain with a huge 4th down sack!!!!

• Freshmen Dylan Day (force) and Bobby Pruitt (recovery) combine to get the ball back from Wake Forest on the ensuing kickoff after going up 28-14. WOOOO!!!!
• And Freshman RB Jordan Lyle cashes in 3 plays later. asdf

• I know this is a penalty by the letter of the law. BUT THIS IS THE ENERGY I NEED!!!! WEIGHT ROOM LIL BOY!!!!!!!! #LetsBeJerks

• Jordan Lyle with a 61 yard run where he ran through a tackle, then stiff-armed another defender to the ground, then outran the defense for a huge play.

• The ability to empty the bench on the last defensive drive to give valuable playing time to young, developing players.
• 508 yards of offense
• 280 yards passing
• 228 yards rushing
• 70 plays
• 7.3 yards per play
• 7/12 on 3rd down
• Held Wake to 50 yards in the 2nd Half
• Held Wake to 2 first downs in the 2nd half
• Held Wake to 3.4 yards per play
• Held Wake to 2.4 yards per rush
• Held Wake to 4/14 on 3rd down
• Held Wake to 2/4 on 4th down
• 28 first downs
• 10.4 yards per completion
• 4.1 yards per carry
• 12 chunk plays — 5 passes (15+), 7 runs (10+)
• 30:42 time of possession
• 6-6 in the redzone
• Held Wake to 0-3 in the redzone
• 6 TFLs
• 5 sacks
• 3 Interceptions (Meesh Powell)
• 1 forced fumble (Dylan Day)
• 1 fumble recovery (Cam Pruitt)
• 3 PBUs
• The advanced stats tell the story: this was an asskicking

The Bad

• Allowed 1 TFL
• Allowed 1 sack
• Allowed 2/4 on 4th down (yes, this was in both the good and the bad)
• Settling for a FG after having 1st and goal on the 10 yard line

The Ugly

• 2 turnovers (interception, fumble)
• 7 penalties for 65 yards. That’s simply too many.
• Procedural penalties. This is the first time all year with formation penalties. Don’t love that.
• Allowing a 17 yard run on the first 3rd down of the game. **sigh**

• Yet-another coverage breakdown, leading to a wide open 36 yard TD for Wake early to tie the game at 7. I would get upset and start screaming, but this is just who Miami is on defense this year.

• After Powell’s pick 6 to put Miami up 17-7, Wake Forest returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. Atrocious.

• Cam Ward with another bad interception. A late shovel pass toward Arroyo, when he could have run for yards on a broken play instead. ugh.

• Wake Forest faking an injury to stop Miami from running tempo on 1st and goal. Absolute bullshit.

• A CLEAR block in the back by Wake goes uncalled and they return the ball out across midfield early in 3Q. What are we doing here, ref?
• Another breakdown on 4th and long lets Wake convert

• Even reliable players started making mistakes. Xavier Restrepo with a fumble.

• Cam Ward misses a touchdown to Arroyo up the seam. You can give demerits to Arroyo as well, because he’s made this catch before this season.

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Team Grades

Offense: B

Miami ended up rolling up a bunch of yards and plenty of points, but it was a slog there for a while. Yes, I’m holding this offense to a high standard, but it’s the standard they themselves have set. Congrats to the seniors, congrats to Cam Ward personally, and congrats on the win. But this wasn’t the offense’s best game of the year.

Defense: A+++++

Conversely, this WAS the Miami defense’s best game of the year. Total lockdown after 2 broken coverages on the first drive. Only allowed 7 points all day. And look at all the numbers up top in “The Good”. This was a masterclass from the Miami defense, and they should be praised for it. Bravo. No notes.

Special Teams: D

Kicking was good. Punting was solid. But nothing in the return game, and Miami allowed yet-another kick return touchdown. Fix it.

Coaching: A

Look, everybody knows Miami’s coaches had a tough job to refocus this team for the final playoff push after the first loss of the year at Georgia Tech and they did just that. Sure, Wake scored on their first offensive possession, but that was it. And, after the KR-TD, the special teams coverage unit did much better. And, through it all, the coaching staff pushed the right buttons to get a great performance from the team on all phases. I’ve been critical of some of the coaches so far this year, but I have to give credit here where it’s due. Great job.

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That’s it for this installment of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Hop in the comments and keep the conversation going.

Go Canes