MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Miami head coach Mario Cristobal and a handful of players spoke to reporters after Friday night’s 24-21 loss to Louisville, as the Hurricanes suffered their first defeat of the season
Quarterback Carson Beck threw four interceptions, and the No. 2 Hurricanes (5-1) never recovered from an early 14-point deficit at Hard Rock Stadium.
Louisville (5-1) capitalized on Miami’s turnovers and a strong performance from running back Isaac Brown, who rushed for 113 yards on 15 carries, to hand Miami its first setback.
“Obviously disappointing evening and outcome,” Cristobal said after the game. “At the end of the day, credit to them — certainly they played a good game — but we didn’t coach well enough, we didn’t execute well enough, and certainly came up short. Just not good enough.”
Louisville opened with a 75-yard drive capped by quarterback Miller Moss’ short touchdown run — his third straight game finding the end zone on the ground. The Cardinals faked a field goal on fourth-and-2 to extend the drive before Moss scored to make it 7-0.
After a Miami penalty stalled its opening drive, Moss found receiver Chris Bell for a 35-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 14-0.
The Hurricanes responded midway through the first quarter. Beck connected with CJ Daniels for 30 yards and hit freshman Malachi Toney for 39 more on an acrobatic catch. Mark Fletcher Jr. capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to make it 14-7.
Miami’s defense settled in, forcing a pair of stops before Carter Davis hit a 27-yard field goal late in the second quarter to make it 14-10 at halftime — Miami’s first halftime deficit this season.
Louisville extended its lead in the third quarter on a 48-yard field goal by Cooper Ranvier. Davis answered with his second of the night, a 41-yarder, to make it 17-13.
Brown and the Cardinals’ offensive line continued to dominate up front, opening lanes for a 20-yard burst and a 15-yard carry that set up Moss’ 36-yard touchdown strike to Bell, stretching the lead to 24-13.
Beck’s third interception led to a brief momentum swing after Keionte Scott forced Brown to fumble. On the next play, Toney took a jet sweep 12 yards for a touchdown and then connected with Daniels on the two-point try to pull Miami within 24-21.
“The game’s never over until the clock hits zero,” Toney said. “Coach (Cristobal) preaches that we need to be the better team, and that’s what we focused on — just keep fighting to the end.”
But Miami couldn’t complete the comeback.
Beck’s fourth interception — a tipped pass grabbed by defensive lineman David Blay Jr. — ended the Hurricanes’ final drive with under a minute left.
“That’s a really poor job of just overall execution and discipline,” Cristobal said. “That means all of us.”
Meanwhile, Beck finished 25 of 35 for 271 yards and four interceptions.
“They did a good job lining up to stop the run and playing zone behind it with eyes on the ball,” Beck said. “They made some really good plays, and I was probably a little too aggressive at times. That’s on me. We have to protect the ball better. It’s unacceptable.”
The Hurricanes were limited to just 63 rushing yards on 24 carries — their lowest total of the season.
Defensively, redshirt sophomore Zechariah Poyser said the team never quit despite the deficit.
“We were down by 11, but we just kept fighting,” Poyser said. “The main thing was to keep the effort up and keep playing through adversity.”
Senior defensive lineman David Blay credited Louisville’s quick tempo for keeping Miami off balance.
“They did a good job getting the ball out quick and setting up the run,” Blay said. “We made some adjustments to slow them down, focused on our assignments, and tried to finish strong.”
Moss went 23 of 37 for 248 yards and two touchdowns, both to Bell, who finished with 136 yards receiving.
Miami (5-1) will look to bounce back when it hosts Stanford (2-4) next Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium. Louisville (5-1) returns home to face Boston College (1-5).
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