Hurricanes end year with one-score Pinstripe Bowl loss to Rutgers

NEW YORK CITY — The Hurricanes’ run defense was stout for nearly the entire season, but with several players missing due to the NFL draft or departing via the transfer portal, the run defense faltered.

Rutgers racked up 208 yards on the ground and scored three rushing touchdowns as the Scarlet Knights (7-6) picked up a 31-24 win over Miami (7-6) in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. The Hurricanes have now lost their last five bowl appearances and 11 of their past 12.

“We look at it with honesty, we look at it with reality: There’s so many good things that we have done throughout the season that show progress, and yet we find ourselves showing a lack of discipline in crunch time,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “A special teams blunder and a turnover on downs is a turnover. So those are things that you have to just attack collectively, as a group, as an organization. Coaches, players, everybody. There’s no pointing fingers in there. When you win, you win together. When you lose, you lose together.”

Miami entered the game missing several key players. Starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke and wide receiver Colbie Young transferred to Wisconsin and Georgia, respectively. Starting defensive tackle Leonard Taylor III, starting safeties Kam Kinchens and James Williams and starting offensive linemen Javion Cohen and Matt Lee all sat the game out as they prepared for the NFL draft.

The Hurricanes got off to a sluggish start on defense. Rutgers went up 14-0 to start the game, getting touchdowns on a goal-line run by quarterback Gavin Wimsatt and a 7-yard run by Kyle Monangai.

Miami’s offense got out to a slow start, managing just 5 yards in the first quarter. But the Scarlet Knights aided the Hurricanes late in the first half, committing a pair of personal fouls to help UM get in the red zone. Jacurri Brown put the Hurricanes on the board with a 7-yard run and score, sliding into the end zone.

The Hurricanes got the ball back at their own 10-yard line with 40 seconds left, but instead of taking a knee to end the half down a score, they chose to try for points. The decision paid off, as they drove down the field and reached the Scarlet Knights’ 17-yard line. Miami nearly scored a game-tying touchdown on a catch by Xavier Restrepo, but a review ruled him out of bounds. The Hurricanes needed to settle for a field goal to end the second quarter.

Miami jumped out to its one lead of the game on a 30-yard touchdown from Brown to Restrepo on their first drive of the second half, but their second ended in disaster. After the Scarlet Knights pinned the Hurricanes inside the 10 on a punt, they forced a three-and-out.

Rutgers’ Trevor Kodie-Yeboah blocked a Dylan Joyce punt in the end zone, and Timmy Ward recovered it for a Scarlet Knights go-ahead touchdown.

“Obviously, a block and a touchdown at the same time is massive in terms of momentum,” Cristobal said.

Rutgers put the game away in the fourth quarter. Monangai, who finished the game with 163 yards, broke off a 40-yard run to put Rutgers at the Miami 1. Wimsatt punched in another 1-yard score to put the Scarlet Knights up by 11.

“That was a really good running back,” Mauigoa said. “… We just didn’t fit our gaps and (missed) assignments, and that’s something we’ve got to work on.”

Brown added a late rushing touchdown, and Miami recovered an onside kick to create some late drama, but the Hurricanes could not mount a game-tying drive.

Five takeaways

Offense flashes for moments with Jacurri Brown

Brown played his first snaps of the season, and on some drives, that was obvious. Miami’s offense had four three-and-outs (one of which resulted in a blocked punt and touchdown) and was forced to punt four times. Brown also threw a brutal interception in the first half that led to a Scarlet Knights touchdown.

But Brown was efficient on some drives, leading UM down the field before the end of the first half and on their first drive of the second half. He threw several well-executed passes, including a touchdown to Restrepo and another near-touchdown that was overturned on review.

Brown ended the game 20 of 31 for 181 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also ran for a team-best 57 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns.

“I thought he played hard and did a lot of really good things,” Cristobal said. “He’d love to have that one interception back. … But he really made some explosive plays. He found his way out of the pocket when the pocket collapsed a little bit. Made some really good throws, some others he’d like to have back against a team that’s a top-10 defense in the passing game.”

Xavier Restrepo hits 1,000 yards

The Hurricanes’ veteran wide receiver could leave Miami and enter the NFL draft if he wants. If that is Restrepo’s choice, his final game at Miami was a stellar one.

Restrepo made several good catches against Rutgers and nearly pulled off a touchdown catch from the seat of his pants. He ended the game with 99 yards, putting him at 1,092 yards for the season —tied with Andre Johnson for the fifth-most in UM history. He had 11 receptions, giving him 85 for the season — the most catches for a Hurricanes receiver in a single year.

“Obviously, Restrepo’s done a really good job all year,” Cristobal said. “Made some big catches today, as well. … Always plays hard, always throws his body around and is a very reliable and explosive player.”

Defense makes adjustments

Miami’s defense struggled to stop Rutgers’ offensive attack early in the game, surrendering 153 yards on the Scarlet Knights’ first three drives.

But the Hurricanes bounced back, forcing punts on the subsequent three drives before surrendering another rushing touchdown to Monangai.

Miami entered the game with the nation’s No. 10 rush defense but ultimately gave up 208 rushing yards, which was the second-most they have surrendered all year. The 292 total yards UM surrendered was the fifth-best game, by yardage, for the Hurricanes’ defense this season.

Injuries to key players

The worst-case scenario for a bowl game happened in the first quarter. Hurricanes star running back Mark Fletcher Jr. suffered a foot injury on a carry and had to be helped off the field. He was taken from the sideline in a cart and did not return to the game.

Cristobal said X-rays on Fletcher’s foot were negative but there was “certainly something else going on there.”

Fletcher, an American Heritage alum, has grown into a dependable running back for the Hurricanes in his first season. He ran for 514 yards and five touchdowns as a freshman.

In the fourth quarter, sophomore linebacker Wesley Bissainthe also suffered an upper-body injury, Cristobal said, and did not return to the game.

Rueben Bain ends freshman year on high note

Freshman defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr. has blossomed into a star in his freshman season, and his final game of the year showed why.

The explosive defensive end racked up seven tackles with three tackles for loss, a career-high, and a forced fumble in the loss.

“It means the world to him,” Cristobal said. “That’s what it is. He’s really talented, but he plays really, really hard, and it means the world to him. We need a bunch more guys like Rueben.”