No. 11 Miami pulls away in the 4th, tops Wake Forest 42-14 to move 1 win from ACC title game
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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Cam Ward passed for 280 yards and threw two touchdowns to Jacolby George on another record-breaking day, Mishael Powell ran back an interception 76 yards for a touchdown and No. 11 Miami pulled away late to beat Wake Forest, 42-14, on Saturday.
The Hurricanes (10-1, 6-1 ACC, No. 8 College Football Playoff) can clinch a berth in the ACC title game with a win at Syracuse next weekend.
Ward completed 27 of 38 passes and ran for a score. He broke two more single-season Miami records, both of which had been held for 40 years by Bernie Kosar: most passing yards in a season and most completions in a season.
Ward now has 3,774 yards on 268 completions this season. Kosar threw for 3,642 yards on 262 completions in 1984.
Demond Claiborne had a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown for Wake Forest (4-7, 2-5). Claiborne also rushed for 62 yards for the Demon Deacons, and starting quarterback Hank Bachmeier was 8 of 14 passing for 86 yards and a touchdown.
The game was offensively deceiving, given how it started. Miami went 84 yards for a touchdown on the game’s first possession, Ward going 6 for 6 on the drive and capping it with a 13-yard scoring throw to George. Wake Forest answered with a 75-yard drive, with Bachmeier finding Micah Mays Jr. from 36 yards to tie the score.
And neither offense got into the end zone again until the fourth quarter. Wake Forest got 118 yards on 50 plays — 2.4 yards per play — after that seven-play, nearly 11-yard-per-play opening march.
Powell’s interception return TD put Miami up 17-7 in the second quarter. The 10-point lead lasted 15 seconds, the time Claiborne needed to run the ensuing kickoff back 100 yards for a touchdown and get Wake Forest within 17-14.
Ward rushed in from a yard with 7:58 left and, after Wake Forest fumbled the ensuing kickoff, Jordan Lyle scored on an 18-yard run to make it 35-14. Lyle finished with a game-high 115 yards rushing. George scored again with 1:53 left.
Miami visits Syracuse next Saturday.