Berkeley, CA – Trailing by 20 points in the fourth quarter the Miami Hurricanes scored three touchdowns to complete the 39-38 rally over the Golden Bears. With 14:13 remaining in the game Cam Ward produced the necessary Heisman moment supported by the defense that clamped down after struggling against California’s pass attack for most of the night. Turning to his go-to receiver Xavier Restrepo, the dynamic duo pulled off several big plays culminating in a trio of scores: an 18-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Horton, Ward’s 24-yard rushing TD, and the game-winning five-yard throw to Elijah Arroyo. It’s the Cardiac Canes’ largest comeback victory since 2003 overcoming penalties, near-misses, dropped passes, and a hostile crowd.
Xavier Restrepo | #ItsAllAboutTheU® pic.twitter.com/DN6bP7Fw0z
— GO ‘CANES! (@83_87_89_91_01) October 6, 2024
UM’s signal caller finished the evening passing for 437 yards including a pair of touchdowns and an interception. Restrepo, meanwhile, caught seven passes for 163 yards hitting the centennial mark for the ninth time in his college career, setting a new school record for most games with 100+ receiving yards by a Canes wide receiver since 1996 dethroning Andre Johnson.
28 Yard run by Mark Fletcher pic.twitter.com/oKroZMQ35R
— NMD Grant (@NMDgrant) October 6, 2024
The eighth-ranked Hurricanes utilized the rush early to open up the scoring via a Mark Fletcher three-yard rushing TD. Fernando Mendoza quickly answered connecting with Jack Endries for the 57-yard score. Afterward, Jacolby George’s Unsportsmanlike conduct undermined Samuel Brown’s 21-yard reception during UM’s third drive costing them dearly. The Canes went for it but were turned away when Arroyo was stopped cold by Miles Williams.
TOUCHDOWN BEARS‼️
66 YARDS TO THE 🏠 pic.twitter.com/DXvDfa63oj
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) October 6, 2024
Seizing on the turnover, California went deep on the first play of the possession hitting Trond Grizzell for the 51-yard strike setting up the eventual rushing TD by Jaydn Ott to take the lead during the second quarter. Ott and Mendoza struck again after the U’s 46-yard field goal. Miami’s blitz on fourth and one utterly failed as the two managed the 66-yard TD. At one point, the gap grew to 35-10 before the momentum finally shifted. With the win the Hurricanes enter their bye week 6-0. Once rested they will face Louisville.
Takeaways
The secondary got torched
I was utterly shocked at halftime. The Hurricanes’ D gave up three huge plays, two resulting in touchdowns. This is the same unit that put up three field goals at Florida State. In addition, Mendoza became the first Cal QB with 3 50+ yard completions in the first half since 2004. The bad tackles didn’t help. Francisco Mauigoa missed back-to-back midway through the second, however, he redeemed himself in the fourth so credit where it’s due. Despite a big stop coming out of the half, the defense choked again later in the third quarter. On third and 15 on their very own 15-yard-line, Mendoza completed a short pass to Jaivian Thomas for 56 yards. The third down conversion set up the nine-yard rushing TD two plays later making it a 25-point game.
WHAT A BEAUTY! @qb_fernando hits @JackEndries for a 57-yd TD to get the Bears on the board.
📺 @espn
📲 https://t.co/2SVV0pA9IE#GoBears | #ALLIN pic.twitter.com/BdlZGkvGat— Cal Football (@CalFootball) October 6, 2024
Fortunately, football is four quarters. The defense finally stepped up with some help from Reuben Bain and Akheem Mesidor holding Cal to a field goal in the final period doing just enough including the interception by Kiko to cap off the West Coast Comeback.
The offense was aggravating
For the second consecutive week, Cam Ward almost played himself out of the Heisman conversation. At times Miami’s signal caller was trying to do too much. Ward missed an open Restrepo in the waning seconds of the first half resulting in an 18-yard sack. Instead of throwing the ball away, he tried to make a play turning into a big loss of yards. However, all the miscues paled in comparison to Cam’s biggest mistake. Coming out in the third quarter, the defense forced Cal into a rare three-and-out. Losing 21-10, it allowed the Hurricanes to close the gap. Ward literally threw the opportunity away with a careless pass right into the arms of Nohl Williams, the guy I warned about in the preview, resulting in a pick-six.
JUST ANOTHER NOHL WILLIAMS PICK SIX ‼️
📺 @espn x @CalFootball pic.twitter.com/u5CkyNex8j
— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) October 6, 2024
To be fair, others screwed up too. Aside from George’s untimely personal foul, Brown mishandled a catch on the first drive resulting in negative yardage. There’s more, with less than a minute to go in the second quarter, Brown could not haul in the pass on third and 25 forcing the punt. Luckily, the Canes played their best football in the last quarter. When it came to spreading the ball around Horton caught nine passes for 83 yards and a touchdown. George saw activity pulling in five catches for 59 yards and Arroyo caught three for 14 yards including the clincher. On the ground, Fletcher ran for 81 yards on 11 carries while Damien Martinez recorded 42 yards on 12 carries with both finding the endzone.
Jacolby George flagged on the play
Rece Davis said he didnt see anything pic.twitter.com/BnLIlHWViv
— NMD Grant (@NMDgrant) October 6, 2024
X is the man
Just another day in the office for Xavier 💼@XavierRestrepo1 totaled for 163 yards on seven receptions to average 23.3 yards per touch@CanesFootball | @MiamiHurricanes | @drpepper pic.twitter.com/BiGpYTxs20
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) October 6, 2024
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