Following the loss to FIU on Saturday, junior safety Amari Carter felt the team reflected in a positive manner and took lessons from the defeat.
“I can’t really say it was a question of if we prepared as if they were lesser than us, but just don’t take any team for granted,” Carter said of what he learned. “Just when you step on that field, you have to play the same way against everyone - whether FIU, the best team that we’re playing that season, the so-called lesser team.”
Was the loss tough to handle for Carter and the rest of the team?
“We live in Miami, we go to the University of Miami, FIU is the school down the street that we know we’re supposed to beat all the time,” Carter said. “It’s our job to beat them whenever we play them. That is what it is.”
Miami is now 6-5 and out of contention for a berth in the ACC title game, but Carter feels the team will look back on this season as a necessary stepping stone to better days.
“I feel this is a good building season. I’m saying that now coming from the loss to FIU and maybe seeming like it’s a copout, but I feel like the season - what happens in here, everything doesn’t get out. But this team is growing in ways that the outside doesn’t see or you might not see on Saturdays. I feel there’s true growth in the program. It’s a testament to coach (Manny) Diaz.”
The loss to the intra-city FIU has some calling for coaches’ jobs, including Diaz, but Carter defended his head coach.
“This past week has been hard, but I wouldn’t trade coach Diaz for no man, no head coach in this country,” Carter said. “He’s leading this program the way it needs to be led. Everyone is behind him. All the coaches, all the players, we’re buying in. That’s all I can say. We’re buying into the program, what this program means, what it stands for, are trying to grow from what we’re learning.”
Some coaches told the media that they felt the team was lacking energy vs. the Panthers, and Carter said that was a fair assessment.
“It all goes back to that thought in our head that we’re supposed to beat this team,” he said.
Does Carter see a problem with UM’s talent level or depth?
“Nothing is about the personnel,” Carter said. “It’s about us and our attitude, what we’re bringing to the table. Just like I wouldn’t trade the coaches for anyone, I wouldn’t trade the players either. Everyone on this team in some way, shape or form was highly recruited. That’s not a question, the ability. It’s our mindset, and that’s something we’re starting to build onto.”
With a bowl game guaranteed at this point, the Canes have nothing left to play next week vs. Duke but pride.
“I guarantee you we won’t be down this game,” Carter said about facing the Blue Devils. “We’re going to come out there ready to play.”
**DT Pat Bethel is one of the senior leaders on this Hurricanes’ team, and he said the team came back to campus and confronted some hard truths after the loss to FIU on Saturday.
“We came in here, we sat in meetings, and we discussed some things,” Bethel said. “We have to make sure we come out and play our football no matter who it is and keep our standard no matter what. That we don’t take anyone lightly and, for lack of a better term, mess around.”
Some coaches pointed to the lack of energy as a reason for the loss. Why does Bethel think FIU was able to pull the upset on Miami?
“To be honest, if I knew for sure, we probably wouldn’t have lost,” Bethel said. “We just have to make sure we analyze everything, take the lesson, as hard as it may be, and learn from it. Life’s about taking a lesson, learning from it, and not repeating it. You’re going to have the same lesson until you learn from it, no matter what it is. It’s about learning from it, growing.”
The Canes were 21-point favorites to the Group of Five opponent, their third loss this year when they were favored by 14 points or more. How will the team move forward from another crushing defeat?
“We’ve got to make sure we keep everybody on track. Especially the seniors, we’ve got to make sure we’re keeping the young guys’ mind straight,” Bethel said. “We’ve got to make sure everybody’s mind is on the task at hand. It’s hard to not live in the past, it’s tough, but it’s Tuesday, not Saturday. We have to step forward.”
D-Line teammate Jalar Holley caught some flak from fans and others for dancing on the sidelines when the team was down 13-0 vs. FIU, but Bethel saw it as a motivating tool rather than some players not taking the game seriously.
“He was trying to get energy going on the sideline. You have a 6 second clip online and people are judging a lot of things off that,” Bethel said. “Jalar is one of the guys who understands that he may not play a lot, but is very good at keeping the energy flowing on the sideline. We look over to get the call and we see our whole bench up dancing and giving us energy, that’s what makes it great. That’s when you see us playing with energy out there.
“All he was trying to do was create a spark, you can’t blame him for that. Are there better ways to go about it? Sure, we could think of better ways to do it. At the same time, you can’t get mad at him for doing what he did, he was just trying.”
Up next the Canes have the Duke Blue Devils on the road in North Carolina, a team that has struggled to a 4-7 record thus far in 2019.
“It’s going to be cold. We don’t really go there anticipating crowds, we focus on the game,” Bethel said. “We don’t practice ‘crowds’, we practice football, so that’s what we’re focusing on – the things they run, they things they do, and how best to beat them.”
What does Duke do well that Bethel has seen on film?
“They run the ball well, they have some big guys up front, they got some athletic guys,” Bethel said. “They’re very talented, but at the end of the day, it’s about what we do… The main thing is just playing our football.”
“I can’t really say it was a question of if we prepared as if they were lesser than us, but just don’t take any team for granted,” Carter said of what he learned. “Just when you step on that field, you have to play the same way against everyone - whether FIU, the best team that we’re playing that season, the so-called lesser team.”
Was the loss tough to handle for Carter and the rest of the team?
“We live in Miami, we go to the University of Miami, FIU is the school down the street that we know we’re supposed to beat all the time,” Carter said. “It’s our job to beat them whenever we play them. That is what it is.”
Miami is now 6-5 and out of contention for a berth in the ACC title game, but Carter feels the team will look back on this season as a necessary stepping stone to better days.
“I feel this is a good building season. I’m saying that now coming from the loss to FIU and maybe seeming like it’s a copout, but I feel like the season - what happens in here, everything doesn’t get out. But this team is growing in ways that the outside doesn’t see or you might not see on Saturdays. I feel there’s true growth in the program. It’s a testament to coach (Manny) Diaz.”
The loss to the intra-city FIU has some calling for coaches’ jobs, including Diaz, but Carter defended his head coach.
“This past week has been hard, but I wouldn’t trade coach Diaz for no man, no head coach in this country,” Carter said. “He’s leading this program the way it needs to be led. Everyone is behind him. All the coaches, all the players, we’re buying in. That’s all I can say. We’re buying into the program, what this program means, what it stands for, are trying to grow from what we’re learning.”
Some coaches told the media that they felt the team was lacking energy vs. the Panthers, and Carter said that was a fair assessment.
“It all goes back to that thought in our head that we’re supposed to beat this team,” he said.
Does Carter see a problem with UM’s talent level or depth?
“Nothing is about the personnel,” Carter said. “It’s about us and our attitude, what we’re bringing to the table. Just like I wouldn’t trade the coaches for anyone, I wouldn’t trade the players either. Everyone on this team in some way, shape or form was highly recruited. That’s not a question, the ability. It’s our mindset, and that’s something we’re starting to build onto.”
With a bowl game guaranteed at this point, the Canes have nothing left to play next week vs. Duke but pride.
“I guarantee you we won’t be down this game,” Carter said about facing the Blue Devils. “We’re going to come out there ready to play.”
**DT Pat Bethel is one of the senior leaders on this Hurricanes’ team, and he said the team came back to campus and confronted some hard truths after the loss to FIU on Saturday.
“We came in here, we sat in meetings, and we discussed some things,” Bethel said. “We have to make sure we come out and play our football no matter who it is and keep our standard no matter what. That we don’t take anyone lightly and, for lack of a better term, mess around.”
Some coaches pointed to the lack of energy as a reason for the loss. Why does Bethel think FIU was able to pull the upset on Miami?
“To be honest, if I knew for sure, we probably wouldn’t have lost,” Bethel said. “We just have to make sure we analyze everything, take the lesson, as hard as it may be, and learn from it. Life’s about taking a lesson, learning from it, and not repeating it. You’re going to have the same lesson until you learn from it, no matter what it is. It’s about learning from it, growing.”
The Canes were 21-point favorites to the Group of Five opponent, their third loss this year when they were favored by 14 points or more. How will the team move forward from another crushing defeat?
“We’ve got to make sure we keep everybody on track. Especially the seniors, we’ve got to make sure we’re keeping the young guys’ mind straight,” Bethel said. “We’ve got to make sure everybody’s mind is on the task at hand. It’s hard to not live in the past, it’s tough, but it’s Tuesday, not Saturday. We have to step forward.”
D-Line teammate Jalar Holley caught some flak from fans and others for dancing on the sidelines when the team was down 13-0 vs. FIU, but Bethel saw it as a motivating tool rather than some players not taking the game seriously.
“He was trying to get energy going on the sideline. You have a 6 second clip online and people are judging a lot of things off that,” Bethel said. “Jalar is one of the guys who understands that he may not play a lot, but is very good at keeping the energy flowing on the sideline. We look over to get the call and we see our whole bench up dancing and giving us energy, that’s what makes it great. That’s when you see us playing with energy out there.
“All he was trying to do was create a spark, you can’t blame him for that. Are there better ways to go about it? Sure, we could think of better ways to do it. At the same time, you can’t get mad at him for doing what he did, he was just trying.”
Up next the Canes have the Duke Blue Devils on the road in North Carolina, a team that has struggled to a 4-7 record thus far in 2019.
“It’s going to be cold. We don’t really go there anticipating crowds, we focus on the game,” Bethel said. “We don’t practice ‘crowds’, we practice football, so that’s what we’re focusing on – the things they run, they things they do, and how best to beat them.”
What does Duke do well that Bethel has seen on film?
“They run the ball well, they have some big guys up front, they got some athletic guys,” Bethel said. “They’re very talented, but at the end of the day, it’s about what we do… The main thing is just playing our football.”
