Miami · ACCMiami found a late answer with pressure at Wake Forest
Corey Hetherman’s defense blitzed on 60.8 percent of dropbacks and generated 44 pressures after Miami’s four-man rush struggled.
SEP 22, 2026
Wake Forest dropbacks blitzed
Pressures generated
Miami’s record after the win
01 · The NewsMiami’s Pressure Answer
On Friday, Sept. 18, Miami answered a struggling four-man rush by blitzing on 60.8 percent of Wake Forest’s dropbacks, generating 44 pressures and forcing the late stops that secured a 33–20 road victory.
The adjustment came from defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman. Miami could not consistently win with four rushers, so Hetherman used aggressive pressure packages to change the quarterback’s picture. The pressure confused Wake Forest quarterback Gio Lopez late and gave the Hurricanes the stops they needed to finish the game.
Josh Pate’s preseason bracket put Miami at No. 11 in the playoff field, a projection supported by a defense that can compensate for a weakness without waiting for the game to solve it. Miami opened the season ranked No. 6 in the AP poll and No. 5 in the coaches poll, and it has now won at Stanford, against Florida A&M and at Wake Forest.
The Wake Forest game also leaves the most useful details unresolved. Miami’s specific pressure packages were not identified, and the individual fourth-quarter plays that produced the decisive stops were not detailed. The 60.8 percent blitz rate and 44 pressures show how heavily Miami leaned on pressure, but not whether the same mix can work against a better offense.
Miami’s next game is against Central Michigan on Saturday, Sept. 26, before the trip to Clemson. For Hetherman, Wake Forest produced a workable answer to a failing four-man rush; Clemson will put that answer against the kind of ACC opponent Miami needs to beat on its playoff path.
02 · The StakesThe Playoff Test
Miami improved to 3–0, but the result carries beyond the record. The Hurricanes’ playoff path depends in part on whether this pressure-heavy answer can hold against stronger ACC quarterbacks, beginning with Clemson on Saturday, Oct. 3. Miami’s defense found a way to manufacture pressure when its base rush was not getting home; that is different from proving the front four has become reliable.
“Miami’s defense found a way to manufacture pressure when its base rush was not getting home; that is different from proving the front four has become reliable.”
From the story03 · The Watch ListWhat We're Watching
Can the pressure travel?
Clemson will test whether the same pressure-heavy answer can hold against a stronger ACC quarterback.
Is the front four fixed?
Miami’s 60.8 percent blitz rate and 44 pressures show how heavily it leaned on pressure, but not whether the base rush has become reliable.