Brad Kaaya shines as Miami dismantles West Virginia 31-14 in Russell Athletic Bowl

Malcolm Louis and the Miami passing attack came alive in the second quarter for 3 TDs.

Coach Mark Richt had a nice evening as his Miami Hurricanes torched the No. 16 West Virginia Mountaineers 31-14 in the Russell Athletic Bowl.

A defensive battle in the first quarter, West Virginia scored the only touchdown of the period with a 6-yard run from running back Kennedy McCoy. Miami’s offense was nonexistent as the Hurricanes started the game with five consecutive three-and-outs. Struggling with accuracy early, star quarterback Brad Kaaya had only four completions for 14 yards.

Kaaya and Miami’s offense would not sputter for long.

Brad Kaaya caught fire and led the Miami attack to three consecutive touchdowns to end the first half. Shredding the Mountaineer pass defense, Kaaya threw touchdowns to three different receivers for scores of 51 yards, 3 yards, and 6 yards. Receiver Ammon Richards took a short Kaaya pass 51 yards for their first score, and the Hurricanes keep control for the rest of the game.

Receiver Braxton Berrios reeled in Kaaya’s third touchdown while taking a huge hit to end the first half.

Hit em’ with the “holy smokes that hurt, but felt really good” TD dance, Braxton ????@CanesFootball up 21-7 #RAB https://t.co/hKQZg4HICY

— RussellAthleticBowl (@RussellAthBowl) December 29, 2016

West Virginia would score once in the second half, but Miami snuffed out any kind of comeback, limiting the prolific Mountaineer offense to 229 total yards.

Kaaya finished his potential final game as a Cane completing 24 of 34 passes for 282 yards, 4 TDs, and 0 INTs. Immediately after the bowl victory, the junior reiterated he is still undecided about leaving for the NFL. If he decides to leave for the NFL, he could be an early pick in the 2017 NFL draft.

The win is Miami’s first bowl victory in ten years and snaps a six-game bowl losing streak that started after a win in the 2006 MPC Computers Bowl. The win means Miami finishes the season 9-4, while Richt earns his tenth career bowl victory, tied for most among active coaches with Alabama coach Nick Saban.

West Virginia finishes its season at 10-3.