Middle Tennessee upsets No. 25 Miami, scores first win over ranked opponent in program history

Middle Tennessee entered the Hard Rock Stadium and handed number 25 Miami a 45-31 upset loss as a 26-point underdog on Saturday. The loss will spark a quarterback debate for the Hurricanes and a lot of unease from fans after a second straight defeat and a 2-2 start to the Mario Cristobal era. The win was Middle Tennessee’s first win over an AP Top 25-ranked opponent in the program’s history, and shockingly, moves the Blue Raiders to 3-0 all-time against the Hurricanes after victories in their previous encounters in 1931. and 1932.

Middle Tennessee jumped out to a 24-3 lead and continued to have answers at every turn as Miami tried to get back into the game. The Hurricanes benched starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke in favor of Jake Garcia, but they couldn’t stop Chase Cunningham and Middle Tennessee’s attack to move the ball against a defense that held Texas A&M to 17 points in the week before. College Station, Texas.

Miami had a lot of notable injuries in this game, including in the secondary, but this game was a lot about how Middle Tennessee was handling its business, adding to the Hurricanes’ frustrations. The offense struggled to make explosive plays all afternoon, while Middle Tennessee had touchdown plays—no drives, plays—of 71 yards, 69 yards, and 98 yards, as the Hurricanes needed two and a half quarters and a quarterback change to to become equal. see their first game over 20 yards.

That score of 98 meters was particularly painful; it came right on the heels of Miami who failed to score despite the second-and-goal being from the 1-yard line. The Hurricanes started the fourth quarter with a chance to narrow the lead to seven, but instead were trailing three touchdowns with less than 15 minutes to go.

The quarterback change will be the biggest storyline for a Miami team that will drop out of the top 25 of the rankings and now have to refocus its efforts on winning the ACC Costal. Miami is 2-2 overall but hasn’t played a conference game yet, meaning the offense decisions will determine whether the Hurricanes can live up to preseason predictions to win their side of the standings.

Tyler Van Dyke, last year’s ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year, completed just 16 of 32 passes for 138 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions before being benched in favor of Jake Garcia, who finished with 161 yards out of 10 -of-19, but led a couple of late touchdown drives. The Miami fans at Hard Rock Stadium started chanting Garcia’s name as Van Dyke continued to struggle, and when Garcia came into play, he sparked the attack and gave some life to the Canes’ comeback attempts.

Now both Mario Cristobal and offensive coordinator Josh Gattis must make a decision about the future of the quarterback position. The team will enter an off-week before playing at home against North Carolina on October 8.