ATLANTA — The Miami Hurricanes did what they were expected to do Saturday as 19 1/2-point underdogs against defending national champion Alabama in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff.
They lost.
Badly.
No. 1 Alabama defeated the No. 14 University of Miami, 44-13, in the 2021 season opener at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium before a Bama-heavy crowd of 71,829 .
How bad was it?
Even the initial reveal of the new turnover chain (a jewel-studded UM helmet) was reason for dismay, as officials first ruled a late second-quarter fumble recovery by UM safety Gurvan Hall and then reversed the decision after UM had draped the chain around the neck of freshman Kamren Kinchens, who caused the fumble.
The best news of the day: Miami quarterback D’Eriq King, who came into the game exactly eight months after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery for a torn ACL and mensicus, left in intact — but had some close calls. King was sacked four times, finishing 23 of 30 for 179 yards and a touchdown to Xavier Restrepo, with two interceptions and a fumble.
Early in the first quarter, King was blindsided — and crushed — by linebacker Christopher Allen, resulting in his fumble and, of course, subsequent Bama points.
Even when it looked promising, nothing went right. Case in point: UM, down 27-3, began the third quarter by marching from its own 25 to the Alabama 1-yard line. On fourth down, King was stuffed by a fist-pumping Alabama defense. Three plays later, quarterback Bryce Young threw a 94-yard touchdown to Jameson Williams to make it 34-3.
Bama outgained UM 490 to 266 yards and held the Hurricanes to 87 yards rushing.
Miami is now 9-10 all time against No. 1 teams, and has dropped three in a row since 2017 and seven of the past eight. No team has lost its opening game and reached the BCS title game or College Football Playoff, according to the AP.
Now comes the hard part: Maintaining focus in 11 consecutive games in which the Hurricanes, per the computer permutations in ESPN’s Football Power Index, were favored to win at the start of the season. The first of those 11 games is UM’s home opener at 7 p.m. next Saturday against Appalachian State.
Alabama has won 14 straight, dating to the 2019 final game against Michigan. The Tide has gone 14-0 to open the season under Nick Saban — outscoring its opponents 610 points to 176.
It didn’t take long for Young, who replaced Heisman Trophy finalist Mac Jones as the starter, to assure the world he’s a nifty replacement. Not that the world didn’t already know. With the former five-star recruit and second-year freshman Young in the game, Bama scored on every drive except for two.
Young began the deluge by driving Bama 75 yards in seven plays, culminating in a 37-yard touchdown pass to John Metchie III. The Crimson Tide led 7-0 with 12:07 left in the opening quarter.
Bama scored on its next drive with a 38-yard field goal by Will Reichard to make it 10-0 at 4:39 of the first quarter.
Then came an 80-yard drive culminated by Young’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Latu to make it 17-0 at 14:12 of the second quarter— followed by a 51-yard Bama field goal four plays after Allen hammered King to force a fumble. Canes right tackle DJ Scaife let Allen get right past him on the Tide takeaway, which resulted in King limping into UM’s medical tent.
But King returned for more agony, and the Tide had made it 27-3 by halftime. He exited for good late in the fourth quarter, replaced by Tyler Van Dyke with 5:21 left.
Canes fans can thank true freshman kicker Andy Borregales for six points, scored on a 37-yard field goal as time expired in the first half and a 28-yard third-quarter field goal. UM did not cross midfield until its final first-half drive. The 28-yarder came on the drive after a strip/fumble recovery by UM’s Chantz Williams/Jordan Miller — who this time celebrated the turnover chain for real.
