Miami Gardens, FL. – As the college football season progresses, the significance of each game increases, and Saturday’s performance by the Miami Hurricanes exemplified this progression.
The Hurricanes relied on a strong defensive effort and a highly efficient offense to secure a commanding 41-7 victory over NC State in front of 59,157 spectators on Senior Day at Hard Rock Stadium.
With this win, No. 16 Miami advances to an 8-2 overall record and a 4-2 mark in ACC play. NC State falls to 5-5 overall and 2-4 within the conference.
Miami Hurricanes defeat the Syracuse Orange with a decisive victory.
The team demonstrated dominance across all statistics, outgaining the Wolfpack 581 to 149 yards, restricting NC State to just 29 rushing yards, averaging 8.3 yards per play, holding a time of possession advantage of 13:26, and converting all five red zone opportunities.
“Controlling the line of scrimmage and making them one dimensional, and hitting the quarterback certainly affected his accuracy and his timing– having to get rid of it earlier,” Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal said. “Being able to play man coverage, as much as we did tonight, is also another thing that I think is really important going down the stretch here.”
Quarterback Carson Beck completed 21 of 27 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Girard Pringle achieved his first career 100-yard rushing game, totaling 116 yards on 17 carries. Wide receiver Malachi Toney recorded five receptions for 54 yards and two scoring catches, also completing a 44-yard pass. Wide receiver Keelan Marion led all players with seven receptions for 96 yards. Overall, ten Hurricanes caught passes.
Defensive end Akheem Mesidor contributed five tackles, including one sack and two tackles for loss. Linebacker Raul Aguirre added five tackles, and safety Jakobe Thomas returned an interception for a touchdown, marking the Hurricanes’ consecutive games with interceptions returned for scores—the first time in eight years this has occurred.
NC State quarterback CJ Bailey completed 17 of 30 passes for 120 yards and two interceptions. He was also the team’s leading rusher with 17 yards. Linebacker Caden Fordham led the Wolfpack defense with 11 tackles.
“The highlight of our night was our punter, which is sad to say, but Caden Fordham did a tremendous job,” Otherwise, offense and defense weren’t good enough. We have a bunch of good kids who will go back to work, and that’s where our focus is.”
Miami’s defense forced a punt on the opening drive of the game, and Beck’s initial pass to Pringle set the tone offensively. Six plays later, Beck connected with Marion on a 34-yard completion to the State 18-yard line. However, a sack pushed the Canes back, and they settled for a 31-yard field goal by Carter Davis, giving Miami an early 3-0 lead.
On Miami’s subsequent possession, cornerback Devon Marshall caused a fumble from Wolfpack running back Marty Brown, which was recovered by Fordham at midfield. Although this was Miami’s first lost fumble of the season, two plays later, Thomas intercepted Bailey and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown, extending the Hurricanes’ lead to double digits.
Thomas scored again on the next Wolfpack drive, intercepting Bailey near midfield and returning it 60 yards for another touchdown. Despite NC State’s efforts to respond, their drive was halted by the defense, and the Hurricanes forced a three-and-out.
Offensively, Toney’s deep pass to wide receiver JoJo Trader for 44 yards set up a one-yard touchdown run by Brown, increasing Miami’s lead to 17-0. As the first half concluded, Beck led another sustained drive with key receptions by Marion, culminating in a perfectly timed pass to Toney in the end zone for a 24-0 halftime lead.
The Hurricanes continued their momentum after halftime, with Beck orchestrating an 85-yard drive that resulted in a 29-yard touchdown pass to tight end Elija Lofton, confirmed upon review, pushing the lead to 31 points.
Following a defensive stop, Miami’s offense advanced again, highlighted by a deep pass from Beck to Toney, who scored a 15-yard touchdown to make it 41-0 early in the fourth quarter.
Emory Williams took over at quarterback late in the game, which ended with a missed field goal from 42 yards. NC State finally responded with a 10-yard touchdown run by Bailey with 2:18 remaining.
The Hurricanes will now travel for the final two regular season games, starting with next Saturday’s contest at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Kickoff time is to be determined.
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