The duality of the Hurricanes’ close win: Embrace victory and go ‘back to the drawing board’

Mario Cristobal will never take a win for granted. He knows how valuable each victory is in a college football season and how quickly they can slip from one’s grasp. Upsets happen. A shaky performance is inevitable.

But the University of Miami coach is also not one to let a poor outing linger regardless of the final outcome. If things need to be corrected, they will be attacked head on.

That was the case this weekend after the Miami Hurricanes escaped their Atlantic Coast Conference opener against Virginia Tech on Friday with a 38-34 win — one that saw them need to overcome a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit and survive a lengthy review on the final play of the game.

“I appreciate the resiliency of our players for finding a way to get it done,” Cristobal said. “I also really appreciate the humility of our organization to come in [Sunday] and getting to with in addressing all the things we can do better.”

There is a good amount that needs to be corrected quickly before No. 8 Miami (5-0, 1-0 ACC) makes the cross-country trip to face the Cal Golden Bears (3-1, 0-1 ACC) at 10:30 p.m. Saturday.

Miami’s offense turned the ball over three times, which led to 14 Virginia points. The offensive line gave up three sacks, doubling the amount it permitted through the nonconference slate.

The Hurricanes on defense had statistically its worst game Friday against Virginia Tech.

They allowed a season high 34 points (the previous high was 17 against Florida), 206 rushing yards (the previous was 139 against Florida) and 5.97 yards per play (the previous was 4.87 against USF). Virginia Tech went 9 of 14 (64.3 percent) on third down after UM held its first four opponents to a combined 12 for 51 (23.5 percent)

There were also the numerous missed tackles, which defensive coordinator Lance Guidry said in part was due to the dynamic nature of Virginia Tech dual-threat quarterback Kyron Drones and running back Bhayshul Tuten.

“We shouldn’t have put ourselves in that position,” linebacker Francisco Mauigoa said, adding “we’re going to go back to the drawing board; we’re going to fix it.”

But through that, Cristobal and the Hurricanes coaching staff got a glimpse of the character and resolve of their team. They gutted out a win through a slew of big moments.

There was tight end Elijah Arroyo tackling Kaleb Spencer on a long interception return and then the defense ending that drive without giving up points when they sniffed out a fake field-goal attempt and Malik Bryant got the tackle for a turnover on downs.

There was quarterback Cam Ward responding from three turnovers to lead touchdown drives on each of Miami’s final three possessions. Wide receiver Xavier Restrepo and tight end Riley Williams made big catches on that final drive

And there was wide receiver Isaiah Horton both catching the go-ahead touchdown and being involved in the game-deciding pass breakup on Virginia Tech’s Hail Mary attempt to end the game.

“Every program needs [a tough win] if you want to obtain the things you want to throughout the course of the year,” Cristobal said. “Football and winning is hard. I think people lose sight [of that]. Football is a four-quarter game — and overtime, if necessary — and people get distracted when it’s not domination from Play 1. Well, you know what? Domination may come in the form of a 50-nothing game and it may come in the form of a last-second play on any given Friday, Saturday or Sunday. But it is a full four-quarter game, and I think that understanding that winning is hard because people have good players and keeping intensity and focus really high is always a challenge as the season progresses. But it’s also what separates the really good teams from the ones that might be kind of good but can fall off.”