Post-Game Awards: FSU
Best Overall Performance- 2nd Half Canes
Talk about a tale of two halves. It’s not possible really pinpoint the Canes’ pitfalls of the first 35 minutes of the game. Everyone was guilty. Special teams was dicey, especially the punt team. Quarterback missed throws. Receivers dropped balls. O-line had major lapses. Defense was mostly solid, as it has been the majority of the year, but they did let up a couple crucial 3rd downs, and they just didn’t seem to quite have the kind of juice that’s expected in a rivalry game against the Seminoles. There was certainly a couple questionable coaching decisions to top off the worst sequence of Hurricane football in 2018. Combine that with the best showing from Taggart’s bunch all year, and the Canes found themselves in a 20 point hole with about 20 minutes to play.
It’s almost like when the sun begins to set in Miami, the inner-savagery comes out of the Hurricanes. The moment Redwine narrowed in on Francois, was the moment things got funky at the Rock. The energy was injected into everyone on the Hurricane sideline. Manny Diaz came out of the locker room after halftime and officially had the clamps on anything Taggart and the Seminole offense tried to dial up. Francois was able to find some rhythm in the first half. Not so much the 2nd time out. The penetration from the Hurricane front became too much to handle. It seemed like a race, and Francois was the finishline. He finished the half at 6 of 16 with a total of 20 passing yards and 1 INT. FSU totaled 40 yards of offense after halftime. There’s dominant and then there’s what Manny Diaz’s defense did in the 2nd half.
The juice from the defense spewed over to the offense. N’kosi Perry and the Hurricane offense was able to capitalize on timely opportunities. Perry seemed to grow up before everyone’s eyes with 3 second half TD throws, including what turned out to be the game winning TD pass to Brevin Jordan. That play was directly after what I think is the best throw of Perry’s young career. The pass to Jeff Thomas on 3rd and long over a linebacker’s head before a safety was a special play in a special moment. Long story short, N’kosi let his nuts hang late in this football game. This could be a time that Perry looks back to as a coming of age moment in his career. I couldn’t give the Best Overall Performance to one guy this week. That comeback was fully involved by every aspect of Hurricane nation from the coaches to the fans. Florida State gave their best punch, and UM didn’t flinch. That performance in the 2nd half, led by the defense, was one for the ages.
Play of the Game- Michael Pinckney Picks off Francois’ Screen Pass
Pinckney has been known to be an instinctual player, and it can result in some of the most eye popping plays you’ll see. At the same time, his instincts have landed him in some bad spots from time to time. This play in the 3rd quarter against FSU was the former, and it showed just how smart of a football player Mr. Pinckney is. He recognized the screen play from the start. He noticed it so early that if he would have jumped the route right away, Francois may not have thrown it or just threw it in the dirt. Instead, Pinckney waited a beat to bait Francois, and as soon as 12 reared back to throw the tight end screen, Pinckney was already on a beeline to the football. He reeled it in for the 2nd turnover in 2 possessions, and Hard Rock was on tilt. Pinckney is a true leader on this team. Not only for his personality and energy that embody what it means to be Miami Hurricane, but also because he makes plays like this at times when the team needs it the most.
Lay the Wood- Sheldrick Redwine Tees off on Francois and Willis Recovers
This was in a toss-up with Pinckney’s pick for Play of the Game. This was the moment that the Canes finally got off the bus, and Hard Rock woke up. It was 27-7 with just under 7 minutes in the 3rd. It was 3rd and 6. It was an overload blitz on the left side with Finley coming off the edge and Redwine coming from his safety spot. Redwine did a great job of disguising the blitz till the last second, and he timed it up as good as it can be done. Redwine was in full sprint by the time he reached the line of scrimmage. The overload blitz left FSU’s Akers with 2 guys coming his way. Akers took out Finley, and Redwine had Francois dead to rights. Francois was looking to his left, and yet again, Francois didn’t feel the pressure coming his way. This is a situation a defender can only dream of. A football player could go his whole career without getting this kind of clean look to unload on a QB. And Redwine did just that. Unloaded. He teed off on Francois like he was unloading every bit of anger he ever felt in his life. The ball came out, and none other than Gerald Willis recovered the ball and sported the Turnover Chain surprisingly for the first time all year. Redwine laid the wood on Francois and changed the course of this football game.
Trench Bully- Trench Trio (Willis, Garvin, Jackson)
The debates over. There’s not a better Trench Trio in the nation. 14 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 4 sacks, and 1 fumble recovery from this trio on Saturday. My Matchup of the Week was Francois vs. Miami’s pass rush. Ask Deondre Francois how that went. There’s 5 guys in the nation with 11 TFL and 2 of them are Garvin and Willis. Jackson seems to have fully hit his stride and looked unlockable on Saturday. I may have to retire this award because these guys don’t have any signs of slowing down, and it may get redundant to keep talking about these guys over and over again.
Best Overall Performance- 2nd Half Canes
Talk about a tale of two halves. It’s not possible really pinpoint the Canes’ pitfalls of the first 35 minutes of the game. Everyone was guilty. Special teams was dicey, especially the punt team. Quarterback missed throws. Receivers dropped balls. O-line had major lapses. Defense was mostly solid, as it has been the majority of the year, but they did let up a couple crucial 3rd downs, and they just didn’t seem to quite have the kind of juice that’s expected in a rivalry game against the Seminoles. There was certainly a couple questionable coaching decisions to top off the worst sequence of Hurricane football in 2018. Combine that with the best showing from Taggart’s bunch all year, and the Canes found themselves in a 20 point hole with about 20 minutes to play.
It’s almost like when the sun begins to set in Miami, the inner-savagery comes out of the Hurricanes. The moment Redwine narrowed in on Francois, was the moment things got funky at the Rock. The energy was injected into everyone on the Hurricane sideline. Manny Diaz came out of the locker room after halftime and officially had the clamps on anything Taggart and the Seminole offense tried to dial up. Francois was able to find some rhythm in the first half. Not so much the 2nd time out. The penetration from the Hurricane front became too much to handle. It seemed like a race, and Francois was the finishline. He finished the half at 6 of 16 with a total of 20 passing yards and 1 INT. FSU totaled 40 yards of offense after halftime. There’s dominant and then there’s what Manny Diaz’s defense did in the 2nd half.
The juice from the defense spewed over to the offense. N’kosi Perry and the Hurricane offense was able to capitalize on timely opportunities. Perry seemed to grow up before everyone’s eyes with 3 second half TD throws, including what turned out to be the game winning TD pass to Brevin Jordan. That play was directly after what I think is the best throw of Perry’s young career. The pass to Jeff Thomas on 3rd and long over a linebacker’s head before a safety was a special play in a special moment. Long story short, N’kosi let his nuts hang late in this football game. This could be a time that Perry looks back to as a coming of age moment in his career. I couldn’t give the Best Overall Performance to one guy this week. That comeback was fully involved by every aspect of Hurricane nation from the coaches to the fans. Florida State gave their best punch, and UM didn’t flinch. That performance in the 2nd half, led by the defense, was one for the ages.
Play of the Game- Michael Pinckney Picks off Francois’ Screen Pass
Pinckney has been known to be an instinctual player, and it can result in some of the most eye popping plays you’ll see. At the same time, his instincts have landed him in some bad spots from time to time. This play in the 3rd quarter against FSU was the former, and it showed just how smart of a football player Mr. Pinckney is. He recognized the screen play from the start. He noticed it so early that if he would have jumped the route right away, Francois may not have thrown it or just threw it in the dirt. Instead, Pinckney waited a beat to bait Francois, and as soon as 12 reared back to throw the tight end screen, Pinckney was already on a beeline to the football. He reeled it in for the 2nd turnover in 2 possessions, and Hard Rock was on tilt. Pinckney is a true leader on this team. Not only for his personality and energy that embody what it means to be Miami Hurricane, but also because he makes plays like this at times when the team needs it the most.
Lay the Wood- Sheldrick Redwine Tees off on Francois and Willis Recovers
This was in a toss-up with Pinckney’s pick for Play of the Game. This was the moment that the Canes finally got off the bus, and Hard Rock woke up. It was 27-7 with just under 7 minutes in the 3rd. It was 3rd and 6. It was an overload blitz on the left side with Finley coming off the edge and Redwine coming from his safety spot. Redwine did a great job of disguising the blitz till the last second, and he timed it up as good as it can be done. Redwine was in full sprint by the time he reached the line of scrimmage. The overload blitz left FSU’s Akers with 2 guys coming his way. Akers took out Finley, and Redwine had Francois dead to rights. Francois was looking to his left, and yet again, Francois didn’t feel the pressure coming his way. This is a situation a defender can only dream of. A football player could go his whole career without getting this kind of clean look to unload on a QB. And Redwine did just that. Unloaded. He teed off on Francois like he was unloading every bit of anger he ever felt in his life. The ball came out, and none other than Gerald Willis recovered the ball and sported the Turnover Chain surprisingly for the first time all year. Redwine laid the wood on Francois and changed the course of this football game.
Trench Bully- Trench Trio (Willis, Garvin, Jackson)
The debates over. There’s not a better Trench Trio in the nation. 14 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 4 sacks, and 1 fumble recovery from this trio on Saturday. My Matchup of the Week was Francois vs. Miami’s pass rush. Ask Deondre Francois how that went. There’s 5 guys in the nation with 11 TFL and 2 of them are Garvin and Willis. Jackson seems to have fully hit his stride and looked unlockable on Saturday. I may have to retire this award because these guys don’t have any signs of slowing down, and it may get redundant to keep talking about these guys over and over again.
