MIAMI GARDENS – The 5th ranked Miami Hurricanes made a profound statement with a dominating destruction of No. 18 South Florida beating the Bulls 49-12 at Hard Rock Stadium.
Carson Beck threw for 340 yards and 3 touchdowns and rushed for a touchdown as well as the Canes dominated from start to finish, despite a 90-minute weather delay. The Canes led 14-3 when both teams were sent to the locker room with 13:45 to play in the first half. When the teams returned to the field, the offense didn’t miss a beat.
The Canes went up 14-0 behind a pair of touchdown passes from Beck to freshman wide receiver Joshua Moore, including a 39-yard touchdown pass that made it 14-0 late in the first.
After a couple of field goals by the Bulls, Mark Fletcher found the end zone on a 38-yard touchdown run for a 21-6 lead. Beck then scored on a 2-yard run with 2:33 to play in the half.
Beck did throw a couple of interceptions, one off a an errant throw, and a second in the second half on a tipped ball, but he was otherwise excellent completing 23 of 28 passes, a ridiculous 82 percent completion percentage.
Miami’s defense was dominant. Despite giving up 332 total yards and 292 yards passing, the Canes defense swallowed USF QB Byrum Brown for most of the game. He was only able to rush for 2 yards on 13 carries as the defensive front swarmed him all game.
The Canes defense had two huge fourth down stoppages of the Bulls forcing turnovers on downs on 4th and short.
Ruben Bain has begun to establish himself as the best defensive end in the country as he was flying around the field all game making plays. He finished with 6 tackles and 1 tackle for loss, but his impact was felt everywhere.
Freshman Bryce Fitzgerald picked up his second interception in as many weeks picking off Brown at the USF 25-yard line that set up Beck’s keeper that made it 28-6 late in the first half.
The Hurricanes offense amassed 576 total yards and had a very balanced attack with 38 runs to 30 passes. The offensive line paved gaping holes all game for Fletcher as he rushed for 120 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Time of possession was also dominant for the Canes as they held the ball for 36:01.
Miami returns to the field next Saturday night as it hosts the rival Florida Gators before having a bye week prior to traveling to Florida State on Oct. 4.
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