Miami football was in a tight game against Notre Dame that came down to a field goal, and they were able to walk out with a 27-24 win. After Miami made the go-ahead field goal, it was up to their defense to get a stop, and that's exactly what they did with the help of Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor.
Baine and Mesidor had sacks on back-to-back plays in the fourth quarter, which helped them get the win. It was a great moment for both players, as they dealt with injuries last season. For Bain, he gets his motivation from what he sees online, according to ESPN's Andrea Adelson.
“Both players said they noticed that Notre Dame was the favorite heading into the game,” Adelson wrote. “Bain showed his cell phone lock screen during his postgame news conference, with a screenshot of an article that, he said, had negative things to say about him.”
Mesidor was ready for the moment for them to showcase what they could do when the game is on the line, as they've gone through it in practice.
“We go through the two-minute drill every single day in the hot sun,” Mesidor said. “When the lights are up, and it's cool outside, and when the moment is right, we're going to get after it.”
Head coach Mario Cristobal knew that this was going to be a battle, but he had his team prepared for anything.
“You know the old saying, these are heavyweight bouts, and rounds 11 through 15 are going to separate the winners and the guys that don't win it,” Cristobal said. “So, we knew it was going to somehow, some way, get to this, and we just felt that if we were tired, that they were going to be more tired. And that was a chance at ‘whatever it takes mentality,' and going to get it done.”
