Post courtesy to MiamiHurricanes.com
It has been a common refrain all season long.
Miami’s coaches and players have, after every game, stressed that even with nine wins under their belts, an unblemished record, record-breaking performances from some of their veteran leaders and a growing number of national headlines, they can be even better.
And as they now prepare to head to Atlanta for yet another crucial conference game – this one against former Coastal Division foe Georgia Tech – the fourth-ranked Hurricanes insist the push to play their best brand of football will continue, even as the spotlight on them grows bigger and brighter every week.
“This is a team who will never get complacent. I’ll never get complacent myself. I always want more,” said quarterback Cam Ward, who leads the nation with 29 touchdown passes, is second among FBS quarterbacks with 3,146 passing yards and is generating a good bit of Heisman Trophy buzz. “At the end of the day … if you truly love football and [it’s] the only thing you want to do is make a career out of, you do anything and everything to put yourself in a position to win football games. That’s what we plan on doing every Saturday. So, we keep the main thing the main thing. We’re not really worried about the future because we know we can’t get to the future unless we control the present. We’re going to continue to go day by day. Both sides of the ball, we’ve just got to come ready to play on Saturday and play together.”
Added center Zach Carpenter, “It’s a continual growth that we need to make. Our mindset is we have to get better every single day. We’re never satisfied. And if we have that, then we will continue to get better. Complacency is the biggest killer of success.”
That the Hurricanes (9-0, 5-0 ACC) have adapted that mindset and allowed it to drive them even after all the success they’ve had so far this season is a testament, head coach Mario Cristobal says, to the team’s work ethic and willingness to be coached and challenged.
After last week’s comeback win over Duke, the Hurricanes watched a series of plays that Cristobal said highlighted Miami’s “culture and physicality.”
They also watched plays where those two elements were lacking, and both sets of clips were equally important.
“I think we got a really good dose of reality and some very, I would say, enthusiastic, diligent, driven approach to get better,” Cristobal said. “That’s where our guys are right now.”
Miami will have its next opportunity to put together another complete performance against an upset-minded Yellow Jackets (5-4, 3-2) team that will try to create yet another hostile road environment and could be bolstered by the return of quarterback Haynes King.
Haynes was injured in Georgia Tech’s 41-34 win over North Carolina on Oct. 12 and did not play in the Yellow Jackets’ losses to Notre Dame and Virginia Tech. And while his status for Saturday’s game remains unclear, Yellow Jackets coach Brent Key announced this week that King, who has thrown for 1,568 yards and eight touchdowns and rushed for another 353 yards and six touchdowns, would be one of Tech’s captains on Saturday.
If he is on the field, the Hurricanes know he’ll provide a challenge.
“He’s a really good player,” Cristobal said. “Haynes King and that offense is really good. Yards per play, they’re up there. Some of the tops in the country. They are really good at generating chunk plays. They protect him really well. … They certainly do a great job, also, of getting him loose. I mean, he’s a really good runner as well and he’s got explosive playmakers. So, watching a guy like that play, you’ve got understand that you making them one dimensional isn’t necessarily the answer because he could chuck around all over the place, too. You just have to prepare for a lot. And he’s surrounded with a great supporting cast and his offensive line is one of the most experienced in the entire country.”
Miami will counter with a standout quarterback and effective offense of its own.
Last week, Ward helped the Hurricanes engineer their third double-digit comeback win of the season and the signal caller now stands just one touchdown pass away from setting a new single-season Miami record. This season, Ward became the first quarterback in program history to throw for at least 300 yards in seven straight starts.
Wide receiver Xavier Restrepo, meanwhile, enters Saturday’s game as Miami’s new all-time leader in career receiving yards (2,573), a mark he set during last week’s win over Duke.
Like Ward, Restrepo is poised to rewrite more of the Miami record book. He is just one catch away from breaking Mike Harley’s record for most catches in program history (182).
Still, even with all their individual success this season, both the quarterback and receiver believe they can do even more and that their efforts benefit their teammates – not themselves.
“I think the most important thing right now is the team success. Without any of the team success, none of this would matter at all,” Restrepo said after Miami’s win over Duke. “I think just us going 1-0 each and every single week, I think that’s the utmost important thing.”
Added Ward, “We missed a lot of plays the previous Saturday. So, we’re just trying to play a game to our standard every Saturday.”
It has been a common refrain all season long.
Miami’s coaches and players have, after every game, stressed that even with nine wins under their belts, an unblemished record, record-breaking performances from some of their veteran leaders and a growing number of national headlines, they can be even better.
And as they now prepare to head to Atlanta for yet another crucial conference game – this one against former Coastal Division foe Georgia Tech – the fourth-ranked Hurricanes insist the push to play their best brand of football will continue, even as the spotlight on them grows bigger and brighter every week.
“This is a team who will never get complacent. I’ll never get complacent myself. I always want more,” said quarterback Cam Ward, who leads the nation with 29 touchdown passes, is second among FBS quarterbacks with 3,146 passing yards and is generating a good bit of Heisman Trophy buzz. “At the end of the day … if you truly love football and [it’s] the only thing you want to do is make a career out of, you do anything and everything to put yourself in a position to win football games. That’s what we plan on doing every Saturday. So, we keep the main thing the main thing. We’re not really worried about the future because we know we can’t get to the future unless we control the present. We’re going to continue to go day by day. Both sides of the ball, we’ve just got to come ready to play on Saturday and play together.”
Added center Zach Carpenter, “It’s a continual growth that we need to make. Our mindset is we have to get better every single day. We’re never satisfied. And if we have that, then we will continue to get better. Complacency is the biggest killer of success.”
That the Hurricanes (9-0, 5-0 ACC) have adapted that mindset and allowed it to drive them even after all the success they’ve had so far this season is a testament, head coach Mario Cristobal says, to the team’s work ethic and willingness to be coached and challenged.
After last week’s comeback win over Duke, the Hurricanes watched a series of plays that Cristobal said highlighted Miami’s “culture and physicality.”
They also watched plays where those two elements were lacking, and both sets of clips were equally important.
“I think we got a really good dose of reality and some very, I would say, enthusiastic, diligent, driven approach to get better,” Cristobal said. “That’s where our guys are right now.”
Miami will have its next opportunity to put together another complete performance against an upset-minded Yellow Jackets (5-4, 3-2) team that will try to create yet another hostile road environment and could be bolstered by the return of quarterback Haynes King.
Haynes was injured in Georgia Tech’s 41-34 win over North Carolina on Oct. 12 and did not play in the Yellow Jackets’ losses to Notre Dame and Virginia Tech. And while his status for Saturday’s game remains unclear, Yellow Jackets coach Brent Key announced this week that King, who has thrown for 1,568 yards and eight touchdowns and rushed for another 353 yards and six touchdowns, would be one of Tech’s captains on Saturday.
If he is on the field, the Hurricanes know he’ll provide a challenge.
“He’s a really good player,” Cristobal said. “Haynes King and that offense is really good. Yards per play, they’re up there. Some of the tops in the country. They are really good at generating chunk plays. They protect him really well. … They certainly do a great job, also, of getting him loose. I mean, he’s a really good runner as well and he’s got explosive playmakers. So, watching a guy like that play, you’ve got understand that you making them one dimensional isn’t necessarily the answer because he could chuck around all over the place, too. You just have to prepare for a lot. And he’s surrounded with a great supporting cast and his offensive line is one of the most experienced in the entire country.”
Miami will counter with a standout quarterback and effective offense of its own.
Last week, Ward helped the Hurricanes engineer their third double-digit comeback win of the season and the signal caller now stands just one touchdown pass away from setting a new single-season Miami record. This season, Ward became the first quarterback in program history to throw for at least 300 yards in seven straight starts.
Wide receiver Xavier Restrepo, meanwhile, enters Saturday’s game as Miami’s new all-time leader in career receiving yards (2,573), a mark he set during last week’s win over Duke.
Like Ward, Restrepo is poised to rewrite more of the Miami record book. He is just one catch away from breaking Mike Harley’s record for most catches in program history (182).
Still, even with all their individual success this season, both the quarterback and receiver believe they can do even more and that their efforts benefit their teammates – not themselves.
“I think the most important thing right now is the team success. Without any of the team success, none of this would matter at all,” Restrepo said after Miami’s win over Duke. “I think just us going 1-0 each and every single week, I think that’s the utmost important thing.”
Added Ward, “We missed a lot of plays the previous Saturday. So, we’re just trying to play a game to our standard every Saturday.”
