The Miami Hurricanes accomplished their ultimate goal of going 1-0 this week. They beat Wake Forest 33-20 and improved to 3-0 on the season and 2-0 in the ACC, with both conference wins coming on the road.
That's the good news.
Now the win wasn't always pretty. As Mario Cristobal has often said, it's not a beauty contest out there. Each game takes on a lift of itself. The Hurricanes were rolling, up 31-7 and then some injuries forced the offense into a deep freeze. Wake Forest got some momentum and things got a little hairy.
But Miami didn't blink. The defense toughened up in the fourth quarter. They made fourth-down stops, they got sacks and they finally forced a turnover.
Canes HC Mario Cristobal makes it clear he was proud of the effort in going 1-0 tonight and picking up a 13-point road win in a conference game.
— Christy Chirinos (@ChristyChirinos) September 19, 2026
But the Canes have things to clean up.
“We didn’t perform to our standards,” he said.
Cristobal talked to ESPN's Scott Van Pelt immediately after the game and talked about Miami's inability to put Wake Forest away when they had the Demon Deacons on the ropes early in the second half.
"We've got to finish. We were on a roll, man. We were like scoring on every single drive, albeit one, and that got away from us there at the end. It's good to get a victory, but it's also good to have those things to fix, so no one feels too good about themselves," he said.
Mario Cristobal will take the win, but Miami has work to do
As it seems with every game they've played this season, the Hurricanes walked out of the stadium with another crucial injury. This time it was running back Char'Mar "Marty" Brown, who was injured on a 32-yard run that set up a touchdown. Brown's injury looked serious on the field and Cristobal said he'll be re-evaluated over the weekend.
Brown is one of those glue guys that every championship team needs. He does whatever job is asked of him out of the backfield and excels in clutch situations. Miami's pass protection will have to be adjusted without Brown in the lineup.
There have been other injuries, and it's forced many of the talented underclassmen to step in and play a lot of snaps. Growing pains should be expected when freshmen and sophomores get called into action and have to stay out on the field for an extended time. Cristobal prides himself on playing you guys and getting that experience, but for many of those players on defense, and especially in the secondary, this is a trial by fire.
"Those guys did a good job stepping in. They've got to play a lot of plays now. Their play count certainly goes up. So tonight we were tested a little bit there," Cristobal said to Van Pelt.
Injuries in the secondary have forced true freshman safety JJ Dunnigan into a starting role, and he looks like a future All-American. He led Miami with eight tackles and three QB hurries against Wake Forest, showing versatility that should allow Corey Hetherman to dispatch him in many ways.
So even in a shaky performance, there are plenty of good things to take out of it, and it's fair to have a strong belief that Miami will continue to get better as guys adjust into these new roles. It isn't always going to be as pretty as fans want it. But the Hurricanes should not apologize for a win.
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