LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Ajay Allen followed Cam Ward's fourth touchdown pass with a 2-yard go-ahead score early in the fourth quarter, Damien Martinez added a 30-yard TD run with 4:05 left and No. 6 Miami pulled off a wild 52-45 win over Louisville on Saturday.

Thanks to Ward's seventh straight 300-yard passing performance en route to a school record, his most exciting chapter was added to a series recently highlighted by high scores. More importantly, the Hurricanes (7-0, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) are off to their best start since starting 10-0 in 2017.

The Hurricanes survived multiple Louisville turnovers with double-digit deficits, the last of which was Tyler Shough's 4-yard TD pass to Duke Watson that tied the game at 38-3 early in the fourth quarter. Ward then hit Samuel Brown for 59 yards, setting up Allen's go-ahead score with 11:17 left.

Martinez's bullish TD run provided a cushion, but Shough's 4-yard scoring pass to Ja'Corey Brooks with 54 seconds left brought them within a touchdown. Ward took a knee three times to complete the thrilling away win and win back the Schnellenberger Trophy.

Ward completed 21 of 32 passes for 319 yards, breaking the Miami record for consecutive 300-yard games last held by Tyler Van Dyke in 2021, 11 shared by Van Dyke and Brad Kaaya.

Xavier Restropo had nine catches for 101 yards and a TD, and Jacolby George and Brown each caught scoring passes as the Canes beat Louisville 538-448.

Shough completed 31 of 51 for 342 yards and four scores.

THE TAKEAWAY

Miami: Ward bought time and found receivers, and the best offense in the country continued to do what it does with a balanced attack that also rushed for 219 yards.

Louisville: Every time the Cardinals seemed beaten down against Ward and the Canes, they responded with gutsy scoring. The defense certainly helped with a takeaway and key defensive stands, but wasn't enough to stop Miami's ground game from taking over in the fourth quarter.

NEXT

Miami: hosts in-state rival Florida State in ACC play.

Louisville: Visits Boston College on Friday evening with a quick turnaround time.

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This version corrects Cam Ward's streak of consecutive 300-yard passing games to seven.

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