MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Stanford interim coach Frank Reich knows of at least one way to beat Miami — getting down 31-0 at halftime and then pulling off something unforgettable.
Hey, it worked once.
No. 9 Miami (5-1, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) plays host to Stanford (3-4, 2-2) on Saturday night, the first meeting between the schools — but not the first time the Hurricanes have gone up against Reich. He was the quarterback Maryland put in for the second half of a game against Miami in 1984, one where the Hurricanes wasted a 31-point lead and lost 42-40.
“It’s a long time ago,” Reich said. “And it’s funny. The things I think about that game are still the same things that (Stanford general manager Andrew) Luck and I are still preaching to this team today. One play at a time. It doesn’t matter what the score is, whether you’re up by 31 or down by 31. The only way to play football and to the only way to play your best football is to stay locked in, one play at a time.”
Reich was 12 for 15 passing in the second half of that game for 260 yards and three touchdowns, and he rushed for another. The 31-point rally was the biggest in major college football history at the time; Michigan State broke the record in 2006, coming back from 35 points down to beat Northwestern.
That loss to Maryland started a downward spiral for the 1984 Hurricanes. Their next game — the “Hail Flutie” loss to Boston College — was 13 days later. The current Hurricanes can only hope they’re not on a similar slide, after falling 24-21 to Louisville last weekend for their first loss of the season.
Miami quarterback Carson Beck threw a career-high four interceptions in the loss to the Cardinals, and the Hurricanes now find themselves already needing help in the ACC race.
“It’s not the first time that I’ve taken a loss or had turnovers or didn’t play up to the standard that I want to play to each and every week,” Beck said. “Sometimes you get out-executed, sometimes you don’t execute the plan, and there’s plays that you wish you could have back. … I think it all ultimately came down to execution. And again, I have to be better.”
Making strides
With its win over Florida State last weekend, Stanford already has matched its win total from 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 — the Cardinal went 3-9 in each of those seasons.
This week, they’re seeking their first two-game winning streak since beating Cal Poly and Syracuse in September 2024 and will aim to get consecutive wins over FBS opponents for the first time since topping Notre Dame and Arizona State on back-to-back weekends in October 2022.
Reich at Hard Rock
Reich got into an NFL game at Hard Rock Stadium, then called Joe Robbie Stadium, once during his playing days with the Buffalo Bills, relieving Jim Kelly — a former Miami Hurricanes quarterback — in a 30-7 loss to the Miami Dolphins in 1990.
He has coached twice previously in the stadium where the Cardinal will play on Saturday night, leading the Indianapolis Colts to a win over the Miami Dolphins in 2021 and losing to the Dolphins with the Carolina Panthers in 2023.
Cristobal vs. the Cardinal
Miami coach Mario Cristobal went 2-2 against Stanford when he was coaching at Oregon, winning in 2019 and 2020 and losing in 2018 and 2021.
He had high praise this week for what Luck, Reich and the Cardinal are building.
“I think they’ve been through a lot as a program with the change and whatnot and coaching and all the things that are going on,” Cristobal said. “And I think they’ve done a great job at really finding their way schematically and from a personnel standpoint, putting guys in position to play really, really well.”
Ties that bind
Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson graduated from Wingate University, then started his coaching career there as well — both under Joe Reich, the brother of the Stanford coach.
“He’s gone on to have a really prolific career,” Frank Reich said.
Toney on pace
Halfway through the regular season, Miami freshman Malachi Toney has 510 receiving yards — on pace for a 1,000-yard season.
If he gets there, it would be the seventh such season in Miami history and the first by a freshman.
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By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Sports Writer
