Canes get that familiar bowled-over feeling in 31-24 loss to Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl

With several young players elevated into larger roles, Thursday’s Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl was expected to provide a glimpse into the future for the University of Miami football team.

Instead, the Hurricanes were not only dealt a blow in a 31-24 season-ending loss to Rutgers, but also with what appeared to be a significant left foot injury to standout freshman running back Mark Fletcher Jr.

The defeat wraps up a 7-6 season for Miami under second-year head coach Mario Cristobal. Miami, which had six starters and several other contributors opt out of the game in order to transfer or declare for the NFL Draft, has now lost in 11 of its last 12 bowl appearances. The Hurricanes’ last bowl victory was the 2016 Russell Athletic Bowl.

“You look at [this game] with honesty. You look at it with the reality that there’s so many good things that we have done throughout the season that show progress, and yet we find ourselves showing a lack of discipline in crunch time, special teams blunders and turnover on downs,” Cristobal said. “Those are things that you have to just attack collectively as a group, as an organization, coaches, players, everybody.

“There’s no pointing fingers in there. When you win, you win together, when you lose, you lose together.”

Sophomore QB Jacurri Brown, making his first appearance of the season, completed 20 of 31 passes for 181 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He also ran 15 times for 57 yards and two touchdowns.

“I thought he played hard and did a lot of really good things,” Cristobal said. “He’d love to have that one interception back, but he really made some explosive plays. He found his way out of the pocket too when that pocket collapsed a little bit, made some really good throws.

“I’m just really proud of him. I thought he played a good game. “

Brown’s second rushing score of the game, a 1-yard run with 27 seconds left, made it a one-possession game.

Miami recovered the ensuing onside kick, but the Hurricanes’ comeback hopes were dashed when they were stopped at the Rutgers 47, a yard short of the first down marker, with seven seconds remaining.

Down 14-0, Brown put Miami on the scoreboard with a 7-yard TD run with 3:19 left in the second quarter

Andres Borregales’ 35-yard field goal as time expired in the first half trimmed the deficit to 14-10. Brown then gave the Hurricanes their only lead of the day, 4:27 into the third quarter, when he connected with Xavier Restrepo on a 30-yard TD pass to make it 17-14 Miami.

Rutgers regained the lead for good at 21-17 when Trevor Yebooah-Kodie blocked a Dylan Joyce punt at the 1-yard line and Timmy Ward fell on the loose ball in the end zone with 5:06 left in the third quarter.

“It changed the momentum for sure,” Cristobal said. “Obviously a block and a touchdown at the same time. That’s massive. Massive.”

In the fourth quarter, Rutgers added to the lead with QB Gavin Wimsatt’s second rushing TD of the day, a 1-yard run, and Jai Patel added a field goal that made it 31-17 for Rutgers, which had lost all 11 prior matchups against Miami.

Miami was already down 7-0 when Fletcher, who ran for 514 yards and five touchdowns, was injured on his second carry of the game and carted off later in the opening quarter.

After the game, Cristobal said x-rays on Fletcher’s foot “were negative, but there’s certainly something else going on there.”

The injury marks the second major loss to the Hurricanes’ highly regarded freshman class in a span of four games, following the broken arm to quarterback Emory Williams against Florida State on Nov. 11.

Williams’ injury and the transfer of Tyler Van Dyke opened the door for Brown, who started two games last year. With Miami, rumored to be heavily pursuing a veteran quarterback in the transfer portal, Brown’s future with the program was unknown as of the conclusion of the game.

Miami was held to just 5 yards of offense in the first quarter and Brown’s second quarter interception in Miami territory set up a 7-yard touchdown run for Kyle Monangai, which gave Rutgers (7-6) a 14-0 lead.

Monangai, the Big Ten’s leading rusher in the regular season, was named Pinstripe Bowl MVP after rushing for 163 yards on 25 carries.

As a team, Rutgers ran for 208 yards on a Miami defense that entered the Pinstripe Bowl, allowing an average of just 97.1 per game.

“They run the ball hard. I think that was a big difference,” junior linebacker Francisco Mauigoa said. “These guys came and just ran the ball. We just couldn’t figure it out and by the time we did, it was too late. They’re very physical up front.”

In defeat, Restrepo set the school’s single-season reception record with 85 and became the sixth UM player to record 1,000-plus receiving yards in a season. The fourth-year junior caught 11 passes for 99 yards.

Despite the disappointing ending, Miami’s seven wins mark a two-game improvement over last season, Cristobal’s first as the Hurricanes’ head coach.

“You go into each year looking back at the last year, and wanting to get better,” said offensive lineman Jalen Rivers. “We still have a lot to improve on, but we made a major step. Next year. I feel we can make that step where we can get more wins.”