Last season, Tech made one of the most improbable comebacks in program history by beating the undefeated No. 17 Hurricanes in a 23-20 shocker. The sequel was even better.
Instead of relying on good fortune, the Jackets were in control from the jump. Miami scrambled to get back in the game, but Tech continued to execute and keep the Hurricanes at arms reach. Although Miami has played plenty of close games this season where opponents faltered down the stretch, the Jackets held onto their lead and delivered the Hurricanes their first loss of the season. Poetically, redshirt junior quarterback Haynes King kneeled out the game to secure the victory, reminding Miami of the lack of kneeling that cost them last year’s game. The win was Tech’s first win against a top-five opponent since their win over No. 4 Virginia on Oct. 17, 2009.
A major storyline going into the game was the status of King. Despite being labeled as questionable going into the game, it seemed to be inevitable that King was going to take part in the biggest game of the season so far. To the glee of the Jackets faithful, King took the field for the first offensive snap of the game.
Tech started the game on offense. Urged on by 47,358 roaring Tech fans, the largest at an ACC home game for the Jackets since 2018, their offense made a statement that they would not let the Hurricanes roll through. Redshirt junior running back Jamal Haynes rushed for 65 yards on the second play of the game to set the Jackets up inside Miami territory. Haynes finished the drive himself by running in for the touchdown while juking out a formidable Hurricanes rush defense, ranked fifth in the ACC for rush yards per game..
Miami responded immediately. Senior quarterback Cam Ward found redshirt junior tight end Elijah Arroyo to score a 74-yard touchdown on Miami’s second play of the game. On their second drive, Tech implemented a unique, but risky gameplan of playing freshman quarterback Aaron Philo alongside King. The early results could have been better — Tech punted after a three-and-out. However, over the course of the game, offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner used Philo in more obvious passing situations and put King in when the team needed to run the ball.
Miami responded to Tech stalling out with a short drive of their own and kicked a 41-yard field goal, to take a 10-7 lead. Fortunately, the Jackets answered back with a nearly 11-minute touchdown drive of their own that revealed their gameplan: run the ball over the Hurricanes’ defense. Their methodical drive was proof of concept. Of the 80 yards that the Jackets gained on the drive, they picked up 64 by running largely through the legs of King. Despite Tech doing most of their work on the ground, they switched things up in the red zone. King capped off the drive with a five-yard touchdown pass to redshirt junior wide receiver Malik Rutherford, to give Tech a 14-10 lead. The lead was one that the Jackets did not relinquish.
In a half of largely excellent defense, the Jackets’ defense set itself apart on two distinct plays. The first came after Miami marched down the field to the Tech 23-yard line and decided to go for it on fourth and three. Redshirt junior defensive end Sylvain Yondjouen rushed Ward and forced him into an incomplete pass, thus forcing a turnover on downs. The defense shined again when the Hurricanes were near midfield and needed nine yards to convert a pivotal third down. Redshirt junior defensive back Omar Daniels got in between Ward’s pass to break it up and force Miami to punt. It “We went over [that play] many times, so [senior safety LaMiles Brooks] told me what to do. I can’t thank him enough. That’s a great teammate right there.” Daniels said, on how he made the pivotal pass breakup and how Brooks helped him make the play.
The first half was a dominant display from the Jackets on both sides of the ball. The defense forced Ward to complete just 50% of his passes and 133 yards passing. They complemented an excellent pass defense with Tech allowing just 65 yards on the ground. On offense, the Jackets churned out 189 yards rushing while dominating the time of possession, holding the ball for 18 minutes and 17 seconds. Tech hoped to expand on their 14-10 lead in the second half.
The Jackets defense continued their dominant performance in the second half. Tech forced a turnover on downs on Miami’s first drive of the half. The Jackets took advantage of the turnover and marched down the field, capping it off with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Philo to redshirt senior Chase Lane on third down. The touchdown pass was Philo’s first as a Jacket and extended Tech’s lead to 21-10.
Miami responded once again on the arm of Ward. The Hurricanes went 83 yards in nine plays to score the touchdown. Miami elected to go for a two-point conversion but the swarming Jackets defense forced a fumble to limit the score to 21-16.
After the Miami touchdown, King stepped up. He led the offense on a 75 yard drive down the field and capitalized on the momentum from the defense with a five-yard King run into the end zone. It extended the score to 28-16 and put the Jackets in firm control of the game. For the Jackets to win this game, they needed to show up in the fourth quarter. In Miami’s previous games, the Hurricanes made big fourth quarter comebacks, overcoming deficits to Duke and Cal. It was up to the Jackets defense to stifle their hopes. On Miami’s three offensive drives in the quarter, the Jackets forced turnovers on two of them. The first came on a fourth-and-16 attempt that Miami desperately needed to get back into the game. The Jackets put a stop to it by driving Ward into the ground on the sack. Still, the Hurricanes cut the lead to 23-28 on a clutch throw by Ward. With the game hanging in the balance, redshirt junior defensive end Romello Height beat the Miami tackle, mauled Ward and ripped the ball away from the Heisman hopeful. Redshirt junior defensive lineman Jordan Van Den Berg recovered the ball and held onto it with all of his might. “I watched a war movie last night. I was digging in the trenches for the ball.” Van Den Berg said jokingly about securing the fumble for the Jackets.
After the fumble recovery, the Jackets offense needed one first down to secure the victory. Tech ran the ball up the middle on first and second down but they fell short of the first-down marker. Tech needed an offensive spark and turned to the player with lightning in his veins — sophomore wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr. Singleton took the shovel pass from King, outran Miami’s defense and picked up the first down before sliding down to ice the game. In just two successive kneel-downs from King, the Jackets upset No. 4 Miami, 28-23.
In their most impressive display of run-game execution this year, the Jackets ran for 271 yards and Kingled the team with 93 yards. In the trenches, Tech’s run defense held up their end of the bargain by limiting the Hurricanes to 88 rushing yards. The game was a prime example of the complimentary football that Key strives for Tech to play.
Tech fans stormed the field in exuberant celebration once the game was officially over. Despite the attempts of security to protect the goal posts, students unsurprisingly engineered a way to dislodge the posts and brought them to President Angel Cabrera’s house.“You saw the students. You saw the fans. That’s what it’s special for…That’s what we are, just nerds and prideful of it,” Key said after the game in reference to what the victory means. It may not be 1984, but years of misplaced hope and miserable losses culminated in a revenge of the nerds.