The Miami Hurricanes beat the arch-rival Florida State Seminoles in thrilling comeback fashion on Saturday, scoring 21 unanswered points in the second half to down the Noles, 28-27. Here were my impressions and grades after the victory.
We knew this would probably be a dogfight and it was. Despite all the pregame talk of how poor FSU had played this season, you knew they were going to bring their “A” game to Miami no matter what. It’s what has consistently happened in this rivalry in the past and it’s likely going to keep happening into the future. It didn’t help that Miami brought their “F” game in the first half, but they made the plays when it counted and showed a lot of resiliency and toughness to come back from 20 down in the second half. At the end of the day, you take a win over FSU by any means necessary and move on to the next week.
Still, the offense and special teams almost lost this game for Miami. All four of FSU’s scoring drives started at the FSU 42 yard line or better, and they added a punt return TD for good measure. The offensive gameplan/playcalling was again fairly basic and predictable, but play calls don’t matter too much when your offensive line plays as awful as it did, with someone getting blown up every other play, and when your QB goes 13 for 32 passing. The offense had six “three-and-outs” in the game, and every time the punt unit came onto the field, it was either a shank from Jack Spicer or Noles’ punt returner DJ Matthews with a big runback to get FSU’s offense into great field position. FSU is not a good team, but still put up 27 points on a paltry 200 total yards, which is almost unheard of; no way should this game have ended up as close as it was.
The defense bailed UM out yet again. Miami has relied on their defense to get them out of tough spots most of the last two seasons and it was no different on Saturday. The Noles had just 200 total yards in the game and Miami’s stop unit clamped down when it mattered most, as FSU’s offense had 40 total yards, 0 points, and just 3 first downs after halftime. Every time FSU got the ball back in the fourth quarter down 1 point, you were just waiting for them to hit on a big play or get into field goal range, but UM’s defense held strong each time, forcing three consecutive “three-and-outs”. Just as expected, UM bottled up Cam Akers and Jacques Patrick on the ground and made Deondre Francois’ life miserable, living behind the line of scrimmage yet again and recording 12 TFL and 6 sacks. Joe Jackson and Jon Garvin could not be blocked from either side, recording 2 sacks each and getting close to numerous others. Miami now has the #2 total defense in the country halfway through the season and it’s not a fluke whatsoever.
Turnovers changed the game. Just when it seemed all hope was lost down three scores and the offense going nowhere, Manny Diaz and Co. had back-to-back huge momentum shifting turnovers (fumble recovery by Gerald Willis, interception from Mike Pinckney) deep in FSU territory midway through the third quarter that led to two Miami TD’s within 40 seconds of each other. That completely changed the complexion of the game, putting both FSU on their heels and the thought in their mind that they might blow this game. The Noles’ folded from there on out and could never recover. Without those plays, Miami does not win this game, and as always, the crowd continued to feed off the energy from the Turnover Chain.
Miami’s offensive line issues reared their ugly head again. As previously referenced, the UM O-Line had a pitiful performance against the Noles, giving up 5 sacks and 13 TFL in the game, allowing pressure all night, and generally getting dominated. In particular, Tyree St. Louis was a turnstile and was routinely beaten off the snap by FSU DE Brian Burns, which is disappointing in that many consider him UM’s best lineman. I noted in the pregame roundtable how Miami has struggled badly with elite speed off the edge in the recent past, so this outcome was not surprising at all. As Miami crushed mediocre team after mediocre team with the line mostly holding up, most of us wanted to believe that the line had figured things out, but I think in the back of people’s minds, they knew a performance like this was around the corner. It’s just something UM will have to work around, as there doesn’t seem to be a top-notch tackle on this roster, and it’s up the staff to develop the young talent in the program and recruit better to ensure this isn’t an issue for next season as well. It's also way past due for Navaughn Donaldson to move inside full-time and give someone else a shot at RT.
Even considering the line struggles, N’Kosi Perry was a mixed bag. Overall, Perry did not play a very good game, ending 13-32 (41%) passing while missing on many throws throughout the contest, particularly in the first half. Part of that came from being under pressure all night and part of that came from drops, with Lawrence Cager dropping 3 balls all on crucial plays, but you began to worry if the moment was too much for Perry; some were even calling for a Malik Rosier return. But from midway through the third quarter and on, Perry grew up before our eyes and was in complete command of the offense. He capitalized on the opportunities that the defense gave him and his best two throws of the game came on a back-to-back sequence early in the fourth quarter on what turned out to be the game-winning drive.
First, by delivering a strike over the middle to Jeff Thomas on third down for 32 yards in a place where only Thomas could get it, and on a play that was generally well-covered by FSU. On the very next play, Perry looked off the single-high safety and dropped in a perfect deep ball to Brevin Jordan on the other side of the field for the winning 41 yard TD. In the end, Perry had a pretty similar performance to Rosier’s win over FSU last season, with an awful first half and finishing with an under 50% completion percentage partially washed away by some clutch throws in the second half to lead UM to victory. The jury’s still out for Perry, but beating FSU always buys you plenty of goodwill, and the hope is that he will build on his second half going into UVA next week.
I have to highlight Dee Wiggins’ play… because it’s not going to show up in the box score, but anyone that watched the full game knows he had a huge impact on the outcome. The freshman WR finished with just his first career catch for 9 yards, but Wiggins had his man beat for big plays a few times, only to be wrapped up and held by an FSU DB at the last minute before the ball arrived. In total, Wiggins drew 3 crucial pass interference penalties, 2 of which ended up leading to Miami TD’s, and the third of which came on UM’s final drive that helped them run out the clock. Wiggins also had a TD in the back of the endzone taken off the board that photo evidence later showed should have been called a catch, as he just tapped one toe down before going out of bounds (Cager caught his second TD 2 plays later). All this from a player that many expected to redshirt due to his slight frame, but Wiggins is like Mike Harley in that a big reason he sees the field over others is his aggressive blocking nature.
Grades
Offense: C-
The offense played pretty terrible for a good part of the game, and the playcalling was predictable. Aside from a few chunk runs, Miami’s previously dominant ground game was shut down, the passing game was inefficient, and the offensive line was horrendous. Still, Miami put the ball in the endzone when it mattered most, converted on a few clutch plays, and was able to grind out a win by running out the clock at the end, so a “C-” seems about right.
Defense: A
The defense absolutely won the game for UM, and this contest isn’t close at all if the offense and the special teams just play adequate football for 4 quarters. FSU couldn’t get anything going on offense most of the game, was shutout on offense in the 2nd half, and the UM defense shot life into the team with key turnovers forced at the perfect times. An all-around exceptional effort from the defense.
Special Teams: F
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, special teams really bottomed out this week. By UM punting standards, Spicer actually had an okay game, but every time he hit a good punt, the coverage team was downright awful, allowing at least 4 decent runbacks from FSU and 1 for a TD. Bubba Baxa also missed a chip shot, 28 yard field goal in the fourth quarter that really could have come back to haunt UM. Both Thomas and DeeJay Dallas had nice punt returns, but that’s not enough to make up for a unit that should be relatively routine almost costing Miami the game.
Coaching: B-
While UM got off to another slow start and ran a predictable offense in the first half, I liked how aggressive Richt was in this game with the 4th down calls. One ended up biting them and led to an FSU field goal right before half, but two went for TD’s when UM could have settled for FG’s and ended up being the difference in the game. Manny Diaz also had a few well-timed blitzes, one that led to a key turnover that started the tide going in UM’s favor. Not perfect, but I can’t give less than a “B-” for a win over a rival like FSU.
We knew this would probably be a dogfight and it was. Despite all the pregame talk of how poor FSU had played this season, you knew they were going to bring their “A” game to Miami no matter what. It’s what has consistently happened in this rivalry in the past and it’s likely going to keep happening into the future. It didn’t help that Miami brought their “F” game in the first half, but they made the plays when it counted and showed a lot of resiliency and toughness to come back from 20 down in the second half. At the end of the day, you take a win over FSU by any means necessary and move on to the next week.
Still, the offense and special teams almost lost this game for Miami. All four of FSU’s scoring drives started at the FSU 42 yard line or better, and they added a punt return TD for good measure. The offensive gameplan/playcalling was again fairly basic and predictable, but play calls don’t matter too much when your offensive line plays as awful as it did, with someone getting blown up every other play, and when your QB goes 13 for 32 passing. The offense had six “three-and-outs” in the game, and every time the punt unit came onto the field, it was either a shank from Jack Spicer or Noles’ punt returner DJ Matthews with a big runback to get FSU’s offense into great field position. FSU is not a good team, but still put up 27 points on a paltry 200 total yards, which is almost unheard of; no way should this game have ended up as close as it was.
The defense bailed UM out yet again. Miami has relied on their defense to get them out of tough spots most of the last two seasons and it was no different on Saturday. The Noles had just 200 total yards in the game and Miami’s stop unit clamped down when it mattered most, as FSU’s offense had 40 total yards, 0 points, and just 3 first downs after halftime. Every time FSU got the ball back in the fourth quarter down 1 point, you were just waiting for them to hit on a big play or get into field goal range, but UM’s defense held strong each time, forcing three consecutive “three-and-outs”. Just as expected, UM bottled up Cam Akers and Jacques Patrick on the ground and made Deondre Francois’ life miserable, living behind the line of scrimmage yet again and recording 12 TFL and 6 sacks. Joe Jackson and Jon Garvin could not be blocked from either side, recording 2 sacks each and getting close to numerous others. Miami now has the #2 total defense in the country halfway through the season and it’s not a fluke whatsoever.
Turnovers changed the game. Just when it seemed all hope was lost down three scores and the offense going nowhere, Manny Diaz and Co. had back-to-back huge momentum shifting turnovers (fumble recovery by Gerald Willis, interception from Mike Pinckney) deep in FSU territory midway through the third quarter that led to two Miami TD’s within 40 seconds of each other. That completely changed the complexion of the game, putting both FSU on their heels and the thought in their mind that they might blow this game. The Noles’ folded from there on out and could never recover. Without those plays, Miami does not win this game, and as always, the crowd continued to feed off the energy from the Turnover Chain.
Miami’s offensive line issues reared their ugly head again. As previously referenced, the UM O-Line had a pitiful performance against the Noles, giving up 5 sacks and 13 TFL in the game, allowing pressure all night, and generally getting dominated. In particular, Tyree St. Louis was a turnstile and was routinely beaten off the snap by FSU DE Brian Burns, which is disappointing in that many consider him UM’s best lineman. I noted in the pregame roundtable how Miami has struggled badly with elite speed off the edge in the recent past, so this outcome was not surprising at all. As Miami crushed mediocre team after mediocre team with the line mostly holding up, most of us wanted to believe that the line had figured things out, but I think in the back of people’s minds, they knew a performance like this was around the corner. It’s just something UM will have to work around, as there doesn’t seem to be a top-notch tackle on this roster, and it’s up the staff to develop the young talent in the program and recruit better to ensure this isn’t an issue for next season as well. It's also way past due for Navaughn Donaldson to move inside full-time and give someone else a shot at RT.
Even considering the line struggles, N’Kosi Perry was a mixed bag. Overall, Perry did not play a very good game, ending 13-32 (41%) passing while missing on many throws throughout the contest, particularly in the first half. Part of that came from being under pressure all night and part of that came from drops, with Lawrence Cager dropping 3 balls all on crucial plays, but you began to worry if the moment was too much for Perry; some were even calling for a Malik Rosier return. But from midway through the third quarter and on, Perry grew up before our eyes and was in complete command of the offense. He capitalized on the opportunities that the defense gave him and his best two throws of the game came on a back-to-back sequence early in the fourth quarter on what turned out to be the game-winning drive.
First, by delivering a strike over the middle to Jeff Thomas on third down for 32 yards in a place where only Thomas could get it, and on a play that was generally well-covered by FSU. On the very next play, Perry looked off the single-high safety and dropped in a perfect deep ball to Brevin Jordan on the other side of the field for the winning 41 yard TD. In the end, Perry had a pretty similar performance to Rosier’s win over FSU last season, with an awful first half and finishing with an under 50% completion percentage partially washed away by some clutch throws in the second half to lead UM to victory. The jury’s still out for Perry, but beating FSU always buys you plenty of goodwill, and the hope is that he will build on his second half going into UVA next week.
I have to highlight Dee Wiggins’ play… because it’s not going to show up in the box score, but anyone that watched the full game knows he had a huge impact on the outcome. The freshman WR finished with just his first career catch for 9 yards, but Wiggins had his man beat for big plays a few times, only to be wrapped up and held by an FSU DB at the last minute before the ball arrived. In total, Wiggins drew 3 crucial pass interference penalties, 2 of which ended up leading to Miami TD’s, and the third of which came on UM’s final drive that helped them run out the clock. Wiggins also had a TD in the back of the endzone taken off the board that photo evidence later showed should have been called a catch, as he just tapped one toe down before going out of bounds (Cager caught his second TD 2 plays later). All this from a player that many expected to redshirt due to his slight frame, but Wiggins is like Mike Harley in that a big reason he sees the field over others is his aggressive blocking nature.
Grades
Offense: C-
The offense played pretty terrible for a good part of the game, and the playcalling was predictable. Aside from a few chunk runs, Miami’s previously dominant ground game was shut down, the passing game was inefficient, and the offensive line was horrendous. Still, Miami put the ball in the endzone when it mattered most, converted on a few clutch plays, and was able to grind out a win by running out the clock at the end, so a “C-” seems about right.
Defense: A
The defense absolutely won the game for UM, and this contest isn’t close at all if the offense and the special teams just play adequate football for 4 quarters. FSU couldn’t get anything going on offense most of the game, was shutout on offense in the 2nd half, and the UM defense shot life into the team with key turnovers forced at the perfect times. An all-around exceptional effort from the defense.
Special Teams: F
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, special teams really bottomed out this week. By UM punting standards, Spicer actually had an okay game, but every time he hit a good punt, the coverage team was downright awful, allowing at least 4 decent runbacks from FSU and 1 for a TD. Bubba Baxa also missed a chip shot, 28 yard field goal in the fourth quarter that really could have come back to haunt UM. Both Thomas and DeeJay Dallas had nice punt returns, but that’s not enough to make up for a unit that should be relatively routine almost costing Miami the game.
Coaching: B-
While UM got off to another slow start and ran a predictable offense in the first half, I liked how aggressive Richt was in this game with the 4th down calls. One ended up biting them and led to an FSU field goal right before half, but two went for TD’s when UM could have settled for FG’s and ended up being the difference in the game. Manny Diaz also had a few well-timed blitzes, one that led to a key turnover that started the tide going in UM’s favor. Not perfect, but I can’t give less than a “B-” for a win over a rival like FSU.
