MIAMI GARDENS – Two weeks after landing in Miami’s previous game, quarterback Tyler Van Dyke turned in his best performance of the season Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium.
But his only interception, with 22 seconds left on third-and-four from the UNC 47-yard line, sealed the Hurricanes’ third straight loss, a 27-24 loss in the ACC opener.
They have now started the season 2-3 overall in three of the last four years. Three plays before DeAndre Boykins’ pick, Van Dyke threw an 8-yard pass to tight end Will Mallory on fourth-and-4 from the Miami 35-yard line.
The Canes had one last chance from their own 10 with 1:14 left after using two timeouts remaining, forcing a Tar Heels punt.
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Van Dyke was forced to sit helplessly on the sideline for much of the fourth quarter as UNC’s explosive offense helped break the Hurricanes with an efficient 18-play, 81-yard drive.
An excruciatingly long possession ended with just three points on a 19-yard field goal, but it ate up 8:21 and gave the Tar Heels a 27-17 lead with 4:10 left.
Van Dyke answered with a beautiful 16-yard pass to Colby Young with 2:20 left to complete a seven-play, 63-yard drive and the Canes appeared to recover the ensuing onside kick.
However, the original decision was overturned after a review showed that Al Blades Jr. was offside when he jumped and knocked the ball in the air to teammate Corey Flagg Jr. for the recovery.
It was a much better effort by the Canes than their 45-31 home loss to Middle Tennessee State the previous game. However, they came up just short despite Van Dyke going 42 for 57 passing for 496 yards and three touchdowns.
Tyler Van Dyke is back in a big way
The Canes needed Van Dyke to be outstanding to have a chance against the Hills’ high-powered attack, and he was. In fact, he was better than fellow UNC and early Heisman Trophy contender Drake Mayo.
Early in the fourth quarter, Maye was 15-of-23 passing for 277 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, while Van Dyke was 27-for-33 for 371 yards, two touchdowns and no picks.
With his performance against the Hills, the redshirt sophomore validated coach Mario Cristobal’s decision to stick with him as the starter after he was benched against Middle Tennessee State. Many Canes fans were clamoring for Jake Garcia to start against UNC after Garcia outlasted Van Dyke against MTSU by replacing him in the third quarter.
But Van Dijk bounced back in a big way on Saturday, looking confident from the start. His first-half success included a 41-yard bomb to Jaylon Knighton in stride down the right sideline and a perfect pass over the middle to Will Mallory for a 31-yard gain. He later bounced off a defender with his left hand for a 20-yard touchdown to Ke’Sean Smith and deftly ran 8 yards on the ensuing pass for a 38-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
Stephenson: “The Canes defense has recovered from a poor start
No doubt Canes fans were feeling some post-traumatic stress when Maie landed a 74-yard bomb to JJ Jones to open the scoring. Jones immediately got around cornerback Tyreke Stevenson and caught a perfect pass that flew down the left sideline. Stephenson, who started Saturday despite groin and shoulder injuries, was then hit by Antoine Green 52 yards for UNC’s second touchdown.
Maye also had a 33-yard free run up the middle on fourth-and-1 in the first half. But then, for the first time this season, Maieu began to look like a freshman. Keontra Smith intercepted Mayo’s pass on UNC’s final possession of the second half and was picked off by Kamren Kitchens on the opening drive of the third quarter — Hills was minus-4 yards on three plays on those drives. Maye had just one interception in UNC’s first four games.
On the Hills’ first four possessions of the game, which resulted in three touchdowns, they totaled 326 yards. They managed just 62 yards on their next four possessions.
The Hills started the game averaging 45.4 points per game, sixth in the nation.
Miami comes back with 17 points in six minutes
Miami was poised to tie the score in the second quarter. His offense was then stopped on downs after a first-and-goal from the 2, capping a 12-play, 92-yard drive while the defense gave up a 99-yard touchdown.
After Ted Franklin’s one-yard gain on first down, fellow running backs Henry Parrish Jr. and Van Dyke had no gain on back-to-back runs. Van Dyke threw incomplete in the fourth. Maya’s three consecutive punts for 85 yards led the Hills to a 14-0 touchdown run.
The reaction of “Tristov”? Seventeen points in the final six minutes of the half, scored on all three possessions. That included a 22-yard toss from Van Dyke to Mallory on fourth-and-2 from UNC’s 26 with the Canes trailing 21-7 in the final minute of the half.
Canes surprisingly struggled to control the ball
UNC entered Saturday’s game with the nation’s No. 113 ranked defense, giving up 193 yards per game to opponents. However, the Canes struggled to control the ball on the Tar Hills from the start. Knighton was stopped for no gain on 3rd and 2 at midfield on the first possession. Later, Franklin, Parrish Jr. and Van Dyke had three consecutive goal-line runs totaling one yard.
Kane finished with 41 yards on 23 carries. Before Knighton’s 9-yard drive on fourth-and-1 from the Hills’ 25-yard line in the fourth quarter, their longest drive of the day was an 8-yard scramble by Van Dyke late in the first half.
To make matters worse, Knighton fumbled the ball late in the run and the Hills recovered. It was the second shutout in as many games for Knighton, who played despite an injury in the game against Middle Tennessee. Parrish Jr. got most of the carries Saturday, gaining 19 yards on 11 carries.
Mallory, Ladson Jr., leads Miami’s offense
Mallory had a season-best performance by catching eight passes for 115 yards. He had 12 catches for 127 yards through the first four games.
Mallory’s longest catch of the day was a 31-yard grab in traffic, but the most important for him was a pair of fourth down receptions.
Meanwhile, receiver Frank Ladson Jr. had eight catches for 67 yards after eight catches for 98 yards on the season before Saturday. Dropped passes have been a problem for the Canes this season, but it wasn’t a problem against the Hills.
It’s an encouraging sign as Van Dyke’s favorite target and roommate Xavier Restrepo remains sidelined with a foot injury.
