Alright, alright, ALRIGHT!!! That’s a 3 game winning streak for Miami, after the Canes beat North Carolina State 27-13 on Saturday afternoon.

Here is my Game Recap.

Here is The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly by the pinch-hitting Devin Tucker.

And now, your 3 stars from the Canes’ win at North Carolina State:

#3 star: S Rayshawn Jenkins

Jenkins ended the game with 4 tackles, 3 PBUs, and a great tip-drill (word to Nelly) interception that was — correctly — overturned after review (Jamal Carter was out of bounds on his 2nd tip of the ball prior to Jenkins’ interception).

Jenkins was good in run support, and obviously in coverage. He did a good job in center field today, and his steady play was a key to Miami’s defense holding NC State to 13. The 13 points NC State scored today tied their 2nd lowest output of the year, which came in a 54-13 loss to Louisville on October 22nd. Not bad, guys.

#2 star: WR Ahmmon Richards

Richards has been a BEAST this year for Miami. This was a tough choice to keep him at 2 after being 1 last week, but I think this is fair.

As far as his game went, Richards had 9 catches for 117 yards on the day. NC State rarely had an answer for the freshman WR, and Canes QB Brad Kaaya found him open over and over again. In the course of the game, Richards broke Michael Irvin’s 32 year old record for most receiving yards in a season by a freshman.

Richards has all the tools to be one of the greatest players — regardless of position — to have ever played for Miami. With his 3rd 100 yard game on the year, NC State saw first hand the kind of talent Richards possesses. And he’s only going to get better.

#1 star: RB Mark Walton

This was the debate with Richards for the #1 star, but I think Walton earned the top spot this week. The sophomore RB had 19 carries for 120 yards and 3 TDs and 1 catch for 19 yards in the win for Miami.

Walton got the majority of Miami’s carries today because this was a good match for his skillset. NC State came into the game as the #4 ranked run defense in America, and Walton took it as a personal challenge to be productive for his team today. Oh, and I almost forgot that Walton went over 1,000 yards on the year in the game when he broke the 24 yard TD that sealed the win for Miami.

“The OL did great job in the second half adjusting to the defense”, Walton said in his post-game interview with the TV broadcasting crew. “They were creating lanes and I just was hitting them.”

“As a running back, we live up to this moment,” Walton continued when asked about facing a defense such as NC State’s. “Coming in, they were the ranked #1 defense on stopping the run, and I just wanted to go out there and show we could run the ball.”

I think with 120 yards and 3 TDs, they got your message, Mark. Bravo, young man.

Honorable Mention

• QB Brad Kaaya (22/38, 286 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT)
• WR Stacy Coley (2 catches, 54 yards)
• TE David Njoku (6 catches, 72 yards)
• S Jamal Carter (10 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 1 PBU)
• LB Shaq Quarterman (8 tackles, QB hurry)
• CB Malek Young (6 tackles, 1st career interception)
• LB Michael Pinckney (6 tackles)
• CB Corn Elder (2 tackles, 2 PBU, plenty of great coverage)
• P Justin Vogel (5 punts, 228 yards, 45.8 avg, 4 punts inside the 20, 2 punts of 50+ yards, big tackle on first punt return)

Those are my 3 stars from the North Carolina State game.

Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment below and keep the conversation going.

Go Canes