After Miami's 34-17 win at Virginia Tech on Saturday, an ESPN recap graphic labeled the result as the Hurricanes surviving a scare, and that quickly made the rounds on Instagram and X with screen grabs and plenty of eye rolls from Miami fans. For Miami fans, it probably caused more drama than the actual game did, with all due respect to Virginia Tech.
Miami led by double digits for the last 42 minutes and 50 seconds of game time and it’s headlined as “surviving a scare”? 😭 pic.twitter.com/srnYItMchX
— CFB Kings (@CFBKings) November 23, 2025
"Miami survives scare"
Miami never trailed in Blacksburg, they led 7-0 early, went into halftime up 20-3 and ultimately won by 17.
The Hurricanes went up 14-3 with 12:50 left in the second quarter and held at least a 10-point lead for the rest of the night — a span of 42 minutes and 50 seconds of game time.
Miami survives scare is absolutely wild. The only thing scary about that was it was the best game on television this morning. https://t.co/9Lhgxru3Dd
— Ari Wasserman (@AriWasserman) November 22, 2025
Mario Cristobal basically said they had control of the game afterward. "All in all, we had control of the game from the beginning all the way till the end."
Miami outgained Virginia Tech 418-395 and held the Hokies to 3-for-12 on third down, while Beck completed 27 of 32 passes for 320 yards and four scores. Yes, the Hokies ran the ball well, piling up 194 rushing yards, and they briefly cut the deficit to 10 twice, at 20-10 and 27-17. But each time, Miami immediately answered with a touchdown drive. At no point in the second half did Virginia Tech have the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead.
It’s been clear that narratives were being set by ESPN all day, but “Miami Survives Scare” is such an exaggeration.
— MIAMI (@MiamiSportsHQ) November 22, 2025
Miami never trailed, and led by double digits from the beginning of the second quarter til the end.
Do better @ESPNCFB. pic.twitter.com/RZomzqMVqm
Was it flawless? No. As mentioned earlier, Miami's run defense wasn't the best and the Hokies deserve credit for not just rolling over at halftime. But characterizing a 34-17 win as surviving a scare turns a comfortable victory into something it never was. And it also opens the door for Miami fans to claim ESPN is biased against them.
At the end of the day what matters most is the product on the field. The CFP rankings will reveal more tonight for the Hurricanes and they will need to take care of Pitt on Saturday to have any shot at relevant postseason play.