Where do we start as Miami undefeated season ends at Georgia Tech?

Georgia Tech ended the Miami undefeated season for Miami with 28-23 win on Saturday afternoon in Miami. There are a few main reasons Miami lost on Saturday. Georgia Tech ran on 75 percent of their plays with 48 carries for 271 yards and two touchdowns. The Yellow Jackets accomplished that without leading rusher Jamal Haynes.

Haynes started the game with three carries for 83 yards on the opening drive. That included a 65-yard run followed by a 16-yard TD run to put Georgia Tech up 7-0 on the opening drive. Miami answered on the second play of their first drive with Cam Ward throwing a 74-yard TD pass to Elijah Arroyo.

After a fast start, Miami managed three points for the remainder of the first half. The ending of the game was deja vu to 2023. After Don Chaney Jr. fumbled when Miami could have run out the clock in 2023, Cam Ward fumbled on the final Miami drive with the Hurricanes trailing 28-23 with 1:48 remaining.

Haynes King ended the game with an 11 yard completion to Eric Singleton on third and eight to the Miami four yard line. Georgia Tech did what Miami did not in 2023 by taking a knee and running the clock out. Georgia Tech converted nine of its 14 third down conversions and Miami was three of 10.

Miami was one of four on fourth down. Georgia Tech did not have a fourth down attempt. Those were huge. There were other instances in the game that contributed to the Miami loss. Miami was trailing 14-10 in the second quarter when Mario Cristobal chose to go for it on fourth down instead of an Andres Borregales 40-yard field goal attempt.

Miami also failed to convert on fourth and one from the Georgia Tech 39-yard line on the first drive of the second half. A punt could have buried Georgia Tech deep in their territory. Miami also chose to a pass play instead of a run. It's subjective but those were ultimately momentum-changing plays.

Georgia Tech had an eight-play, 61-yard drive in 4:27 to extend their lead to 21-10 on their first drive of the second half. Miami scored a TD on their next drive and failed on a two-point conversion to trail 21-16. Cristobal clearly wanted to cut the lead to three points to get Miami within a field goal.

Georgia Tech found the end zone on its next drive to force Miami to score two TDs to try and complete a comeback from a 28-16 deficit. Miami drove to the Georgia Tech 22 on its ensuing drive, but Cam Ward was sacked on fourth and 16. Ward threw a 38-yard TD pass to Xavier Restrepo on the next drive to cut the deficit to 28-23.

Miami forced Georgia Tech to punt and the Hurricanes got the ball back with a chance for another comeback from double-digits down. The Ward fumble and subsequent third-down conversion from Georgia Tech ended the Miami undefeated season. Ward finished 25-39 for 348 yards, three TDs and no interceptions.

Miami finished with 24 carries for 88 yards. Damien Martinez did most of the work with 15 carries for 88 yards. King and Aaron Philo combined to complete 11 passes in 16 attempts for 99 yards and two touchdowns. Miami has a bye next week before hosting Wake Forest and playing at Syracuse to finish the regular season.

Miami is now tied with Clemson and Pittsburgh with one loss in the ACC standings. Clemson is playing at Virginia Tech on Saturday and Pittsburgh hosts Virginia on Saturday night. Clemson is at Pittsburgh next week in its final 2024 ACC game. Pittsburgh finishes the season at Louisville and Boston College.