Miami Football half dozen non-championship bowl games to watch
2016 Russell Athletic Bowl-Miami 31 (16) West Virginia 14
Miami entered the 2016 Russell Athletic Bowl without a bowl victory since they won the MPC Computers Bowl in 2006. Brad Kaaya was spectacular in what turned out to be his last name in a Hurricanes uniform. Kayaa finished 24-34 for 282 yards, four TDs and no interceptions. The TD passes were to four different receivers.
West Virginia scored first on a Kennedy McCoy six-yard run in the first quarter. The Hurricanes scored 28 unanswered points in the second and early third quarter to seize control of the game. A brilliant 51-yard catch and run by Ahmmon Richards tied the game at seven. Kaaya threw two TDs in the last 2:11 of the first half.
A three-yard TD pass to Malcolm Lewis and a 26-yard scoring pass to Braxton Berrios 26 seconds before halftime gave Miami a two TD halftime lead. Kaaya connected with David Njoku from 23 yards early in the third quarter to extend Miami’s lead to 28-7. A Michael Badgley 30-yard FG ended the scoring for a 31-14 win.
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Kaaya earned the MVP in Miami’s first season under Mark Richt. The Hurricanes concluded the 2016 season with five straight wins. A 10 game winning streak to begin the 2017 season gave Miami the nation’s longest winning streak with 15 consecutive wins.