The Miami Hurricanes may not be officially "back" just yet but they are pretty close.
The Hurricanes put together a dominant defensive effort in Saturday's 26-7 victory against the Florida Gators at Hard Rock Stadium. No. 4 Miami is now 4-0 on the season.
“This game means a lot to us,” coach Mario Cristobal said. “It means a lot to our alumni, the fan base and certainty we always thought they were a very talented team. They have a lot of really good players and they were always a play or two away from being really, really good. Our guys kept their composure when we started getting in a rut a little bit there with the offense. The defense played off the charts football, again.”
The Hurricanes defense was easily the star. It held the Gators to just 141 yards, their lowest yardage since gaining 119 against Alabama on Dec. 4, 1999. UM quarterback Carson Beck continued impressive season by completing 17 of 30 passes for 160 yards. He grew up a Gators fan, so this was especially sweet for him.
“Feels really, really good,” Beck said. “I grew up a Florida fan but now I've been to two schools that Florida is a huge rival of, so I'm not the biggest fan of the Gators anymore. Although not a fan, I have the utmost respect for them. That defense is really good.”
The Hurricanes have a bye week before facing Florida State Oct. 4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener.
Shandel Richardson is the publisher of MiamiRoundtable. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com