“It was a very hard-fought win, which is what we expected it to be,” head coach Manny Diaz said. “We had talked all week about how strong our culture was, even on the backs of some of these losses to start the season. If we trusted in [the culture] and continued to nurture it, the results would start to come. This game was a testament to that because we knew that it was going to be a game where persistence and being relentless was going to be the key.”

After a gut-wrenching 42-35 loss to Virginia Tech last week, the Miami Hurricanes (2-3, 0-2) had a short week to prepare to face No. 20 Virginia (4-1, 2-0) Friday night at Hard Rock Stadium.

“There are a lot of happy faces in that locker room and a lot of guys that have worked very, very hard for this feeling and for this day,” Diaz said. “The game went about as we thought it would.”