Sloppy NC State stumbles in 31-30 loss to Miami

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Tyler Van Dyke passed for 325 yards and four touchdowns, two of them to Charleston Rambo, and Miami knocked off No. 18 N.C. State 31-30 on Saturday night to snap a six-game losing streak against Power 5 opponents.

Jaylan Knighton had 166 total yards - 83 rushing, 83 more receiving - and a touchdown catch for Miami (3-4, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). Rambo finished with nine catches for 127 yards and Will Mallory had a touchdown grab for the Hurricanes.

Miami had a halftime celebration to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the school's most recent national championship, the 2001 team that is widely considered one of the best in college football history.

And fittingly, perhaps, Saturday's victory came by the same score that the Hurricanes won their first national title by - Miami 31, Nebraska 30 was the final in the Orange Bowl to clinch the 1983 championship.

Devin Leary threw for 310 yards and two touchdowns, plus ran for another for N.C. State. Thayer Thomas had both touchdown receptions for the Wolfpack (5-2, 2-1).

Van Dyke caught some attention in the days leading up to the game when he noted that Miami scored 44 points against N.C. State last season.

"I don't think they can really stop us," Van Dyke said after a practice session.

The kid backed up his talk.

On third-and-16 with about 2:30 left, he found Mallory over the middle for 21 yards. The Wolfpack were out of time-outs and Miami ran out the clock from there.

Van Dyke's 25-yard pass to Rambo for a score opened the scoring on the first Miami possession, and he connected with Knighton on a fourth-down play that went 53 yards for a 14-3 Hurricanes lead early in the second quarter.

Thomas had both of his TD catches in the second quarter, the second of them coming with 15 seconds left in the half to send the Wolfpack into the break leading 17-14 -- and drawing boos from Hurricanes fans, something that has been a regular occurrence this season.

There were cheers at the end.

Van Dyke's 5-yard pass to Mallory gave Miami the lead back early in the third, the start of a back-and-forth second half. Trent Pennix rumbled 40 yards on a fake punt to set up Leary's 17-yard rushing score early in the fourth to put N.C. State on top, but Van Dyke coolly marched Miami 11 plays and hit Rambo from four yards out with 9:34 left to put Miami ahead for good.

N.C. State had fourth-and-8 with just under 3 minutes remaining, but Leary's pass to Thayer Thomas was stopped well short of the first-down marker by Kamren Kinchens.

The Wolfpack could have been on the Miami doorstep after a turnover early in the third quarter before the Wolfpack's Anthony Smith was essentially called for too much hustle. Miami returner Jacolby George whiffed trying to make the catch, grabbed the ball, only to fumble it again. Smith made the first hit on the play, then had a Miami player rip his helmet off before finding the loose ball on the ground to give the Wolfpack first-and-goal from inside the Miami 10. After a questionable review, Smith was called for unsportsmanlike conduct because he was involved in the play without a helmet, so all the penalties offset and the Wolfpack had to punt again.

N.C. State hosts Louisville next week.