Duke Johnson and the Miami ground attack helped the Canes leap ahead of Cincinnati in a shootout at Sun Life Stadium.
It was a banner day for Miami. Literally and figuratively. We knew Cincinnati sucked on defense going into this game, but UM did a decent job of accentuating their awfulness. Which I guess is the whole point. The 621 yards of offense by the Canes was the most since the shootout win against Duke in 2012. The 55 points Miami scored was the most against an FBS team since the Virginia Tech game in 2002. So yay?
Duke Johnson had another 100 yard day, including an 80 yard TD run that moved him ahead of Clinton Portis for 4th place in UM rushing history. He also moved passed Santana Moss for the most all-purpose yards in school history. Not a bad day at the office. Joe Yearby had over 100 yards on the ground as well. The last time Miami had two 100 yard backs was the Pitt game in 2003. Kaaya distributed the ball and made some insanely great throws. So...about that banner.
I really didn't care about this one way or another. I don't disagree with the sentiment, but I also didn't really care for it being flown. Mainly because I know he'll still be coaching here next season. Then I found out who was most upset about it. That made me ok with it.
Highlights:
[video=youtube;h-LTaWyOGyU]www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-LTaWyOGyU[/video]
[video=youtube;CfauTGuYk5o]www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfauTGuYk5o[/video]
In the Gameday post, my official message was to get a win for Carter Hucks to complete his week the right way.
Mission accomplished. This was what the stands looked like as he ran out onto the field:
I get that the #canesfambro types like to be fashionably late by getting liquored up in the parking lot through the 1st quarter, but for God's sakes it looked like a Spring Game all day. I don't care if there was a chemical waste spill on the highway towards the stadium. Why would you waste your time and money to go to these games if you aren't going to be in your seat by kickoff? Whatever.
.........let's recap.
1st Quarter:
The game started out harmless enough. Each team traded punts on their opening drives after not being able to do anything. Then on Miami's next possession Duke felt like passing Clinton Portis on the all-tme rushing list, so he decided to run 80 yards for a touchdown.
Al Diaz/Miami Herald
The run was the longest rushing touchdown by a Miami player since Clinton Portis had an 83 yarder against Georgia Tech in the Gator Bowl.
7-0 Miami
On Cincy's next possession they got near midfield and were facing 4th and 1. Tubbs decides to go for it, and Perryman lights up RB Rod Moore for the stop. However, Kamalu yanked on Moore's facemask just as Perryman made the hit, giving the Bearcats a first down at the 35. A few plays later Gunner Kiel converted on 3rd down to get his team inside the 15 yard line. Three plays later it 3rd and long again and Miami dropped 8 guys into coverage. It didn't matter because Shaq Washington still got open and caught an 11 yard touchdown to tie up the game.
Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire
7-7
On Miami's next possession they quickly faced 3rd and long. Then Kaaya finds Dorsett running a shallow crossing route. Dorsett makes the grab, breaks a tackle, and speeds his way passed midfield for a 36 yard gain.
Joe Yearby comes in and gains 21 yards on the ground on the following play. A personal foul on the Bearcats moves UM inside the 15 yard line. On the following play Kaaya goes play action and lofts a fade down the side of the endzone to Walford for the touchdown.
Lynne Sladky/AP
Great footwork by the Warlord there by tapping both feet in before he flopped to the ground.
14-7 Miami
Kiel starts moving his team and quickly picks up a couple of first downs. During this drive another banner is noticed in the upper deck. This time it's calling for the firing of Mark D'Onofrio.
That's awesome. A few plays later Cincy is driving into Miami territory and facing 3rd and long, but Kiel throws a terrible pass that gets picked by Ladarius Gunter.
Richard Lewis/Icon Sportswire
Gunter's return gets wiped out because of a personal foul called on Corn Elder. Kaaya is still able to get his team into Cincinnati territory pretty quickly. He side-stepped away from the pass rush and delivered a decent pass to Herb Waters, who makes a pretty sweet catch with a defender draped all over him.
That's how the quarter would end, with Miami still leading 14-7.
2nd Quarter:
Miami's drive would stall after the teams switched sides and they punted it back to Cincinnati. The Bearcats returned the favor after their drive stalled because of a delay of game penalty. When Kaaya gets back on the field he delivers a dart to Waters over the middle for a 26 yard gain. Had Herb not been tackled by his shoestrings he probably would have scored. After McDermott gets flagged for an illegal block in the back, Yearby gains 22 yards to get inside the Bearcats' 30 yard line. Two plays later Kaaya goes play action and sees Dorsett getting behind the secondary. Kaaya lofts a pretty rainbow over the DB's head and Dorsett makes the grab for extend Miami's lead to 14 points.
Al Diaz/Miami Herald
21-7 Miami
Cincy responds by going on an 11 play drive where they converted on 3rd and 4th downs. Once they got inside Miami's 10 yard line, their drive stalled after Rod Moore lost 11 yards on a running play. On 3rd down Kiel's pass to Holton was caught in the back of the endzone, but Fentress and Howard managed to push him out of bounds before he could get his feet down. That's when Andrew Gantz came out to make a 33 yard field goal.
21-10 Miami
Miami quickly gets into the redzone with Duke and Yearby being themselves. Kaaya also finds Walford and Berrios with intermediate passes. Eventually Michael Badgley comes out and makes a 42 yard field goal to give Miami a 2 touchdown lead again.
24-10 Miami
Cincinnati wastes the final 46 seconds off the clock and the 1st half ends with Miami still leading 24-10. At halftime Miami honored Jonathan Vilma and the rest of the new members of the UM Sports Hall of Fame. #Canesfam couldn't be bothered to spend time paying respect to those players by staying in their seats an extra 5 minutes. I guess those nachos aren't going to buy themselves.
That's just disgraceful.
3rd Quarter:
Gunner Kiel comes out to try and pull his team within 1 score. But on the 2nd play from scrimmage he gets picked off by McCord, who returns it 46 yards for a touchdown.
31-10 Miami
Such a fluky play, but credit to McCord for keeping with it and showing great concentration. You just know that Dorito was sitting in the coaches booth, beaming with pride, thinking to himself, "See...that's why you drop defensive ends into coverage! So they can catch tipped interceptions 20 yards downfield!"
When Cincinnati comes back on the field Kiel has been yanked by Tubbs and Jarred Evans is now at QB. It doesn't help anything because they went 3 and out after a pass got broken up by Artie Burns. Burns made a really good play to break up that pass. Both teams exchange punts and then Miami catches a break. A Cincinnati player had his helmet pop off and he still tried to tackle a Miami player with the ball. That is a penalty apparently, and moved Miami across midfield. 3 plays later Duke gets the team in field goal range with a 27 yard run where put his awesome stiffarm on display again.
Robert Mayer/USA Today
Michael Badgley ends up coming out and kicks a 25 yard field goal.
34-10 Miami
Tubbs realizes that benching Kiel was a mistake and he puts him back on the field. Kiel responds by marching his team down the field and The Bearcats settle for another field goal by Andrew Gantz. This time from 46 yards out.
34-13 Miami
At this point Kaaya is tired of having to settle for field goals, so he decides to lob a floater to Dorsett off his back foot. Dorsett does the rest for a 79 yard touchdown.
Watching Kaaya work the play-action passing game is pretty fun.
Joel Auerbach/Getty Images
41-13 Miami
Kiel comes back out on the field with 3:16 remaining in the third quarter. He proceeds to lead an 11 play drive down to Miami's 5 yard line that brings the quarter to a close. The Bearcats are knocking on the door, but Miami still leads 41-13.
4th Quarter:
This quarter was insane. A total of 35 points was scored by both teams. On the first play of the final frame, Kiel fires a bullet through 2 Miami DB's and into the hands of Mekale McKay for a touchdown.
Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire
41-20 Miami
Miami responds quickly. After picking up 8 yards on 1st down, Yearby turns the corner races 62 yards down the left sideline to the Cincinnati 5 yard line.
Two plays later Kaaya put his head down and burrowed his way for the touchdown.
Al Diaz/Miami Herald
48-20 Miami
Cincinnati repsonded to that just as quickly. As soon as they got to midfield, Kiel found Max Morrison all alone running up the seam for a 45 yard touchdown pass. I'm sure there was supposed to be a safety back there somewhere, just not in view of any cameras.
Lynne Sladky/AP
48-27 Miami
Stacy Coley returned the ensuing kickoff 41 yards, but Miami had pulled all their starters from the game. The drive goes nowhere after Jake Heaps was flagged for intentional grounding. Miami got the ball right back though after Kirby picked off Kiel and returned it to the 15. However, stiff-arms are now apparently considered face-masks, because Kirby got flagged for one during the return. On top of that Kirby was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct as well. Being happy is considered a flag now as well. Gus Edwards didn't care. He came in and used a stiff arm of his own and barreled down the sideline for a 40 yard touchdown run.
Al Diaz/Miami Herald
Epic celebration there by Gus.
55-27 Miami
After getting to midfield, Cincy can't convert on 3rd and long, so they punt it away. Ryan Williams is now in the game, burning whatever slim chances he had for redshirting this year. 4 plays later Trayone Gray fumbles the ball, and Carter Jacobs strolls in for the 27 yard scoop and score.
Lynne Sladky/AP
At this point the scoring finally came to an end. Both teams traded 3 and outs before Miami knelt on the ball to end the game.
Final Score:
Cincinnati 34
Miami 55
Lynne Sladky/AP
I feel bad for Tubbs. Duke was interviewed after the game about passing Clinton Portis for 4th on the all-time rushing list.
[video=youtube;oN6w3Ry0KtQ]www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN6w3Ry0KtQ[/video]
No word yet on his thoughts on being FIRST IN SCHOOL HISTORY IN ALL-PURPOSE YARDAGE!
Miami finally gets a bye week in preparation for their Thursday night game in Blacksburg.
It was a banner day for Miami. Literally and figuratively. We knew Cincinnati sucked on defense going into this game, but UM did a decent job of accentuating their awfulness. Which I guess is the whole point. The 621 yards of offense by the Canes was the most since the shootout win against Duke in 2012. The 55 points Miami scored was the most against an FBS team since the Virginia Tech game in 2002. So yay?
Duke Johnson had another 100 yard day, including an 80 yard TD run that moved him ahead of Clinton Portis for 4th place in UM rushing history. He also moved passed Santana Moss for the most all-purpose yards in school history. Not a bad day at the office. Joe Yearby had over 100 yards on the ground as well. The last time Miami had two 100 yard backs was the Pitt game in 2003. Kaaya distributed the ball and made some insanely great throws. So...about that banner.
I really didn't care about this one way or another. I don't disagree with the sentiment, but I also didn't really care for it being flown. Mainly because I know he'll still be coaching here next season. Then I found out who was most upset about it. That made me ok with it.
Highlights:
[video=youtube;h-LTaWyOGyU]www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-LTaWyOGyU[/video]
[video=youtube;CfauTGuYk5o]www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfauTGuYk5o[/video]
In the Gameday post, my official message was to get a win for Carter Hucks to complete his week the right way.
Mission accomplished. This was what the stands looked like as he ran out onto the field:
I get that the #canesfambro types like to be fashionably late by getting liquored up in the parking lot through the 1st quarter, but for God's sakes it looked like a Spring Game all day. I don't care if there was a chemical waste spill on the highway towards the stadium. Why would you waste your time and money to go to these games if you aren't going to be in your seat by kickoff? Whatever.
.........let's recap.
1st Quarter:
The game started out harmless enough. Each team traded punts on their opening drives after not being able to do anything. Then on Miami's next possession Duke felt like passing Clinton Portis on the all-tme rushing list, so he decided to run 80 yards for a touchdown.
Al Diaz/Miami Herald
The run was the longest rushing touchdown by a Miami player since Clinton Portis had an 83 yarder against Georgia Tech in the Gator Bowl.
7-0 Miami
On Cincy's next possession they got near midfield and were facing 4th and 1. Tubbs decides to go for it, and Perryman lights up RB Rod Moore for the stop. However, Kamalu yanked on Moore's facemask just as Perryman made the hit, giving the Bearcats a first down at the 35. A few plays later Gunner Kiel converted on 3rd down to get his team inside the 15 yard line. Three plays later it 3rd and long again and Miami dropped 8 guys into coverage. It didn't matter because Shaq Washington still got open and caught an 11 yard touchdown to tie up the game.
Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire
7-7
On Miami's next possession they quickly faced 3rd and long. Then Kaaya finds Dorsett running a shallow crossing route. Dorsett makes the grab, breaks a tackle, and speeds his way passed midfield for a 36 yard gain.
Joe Yearby comes in and gains 21 yards on the ground on the following play. A personal foul on the Bearcats moves UM inside the 15 yard line. On the following play Kaaya goes play action and lofts a fade down the side of the endzone to Walford for the touchdown.
Lynne Sladky/AP
Great footwork by the Warlord there by tapping both feet in before he flopped to the ground.
14-7 Miami
Kiel starts moving his team and quickly picks up a couple of first downs. During this drive another banner is noticed in the upper deck. This time it's calling for the firing of Mark D'Onofrio.
That's awesome. A few plays later Cincy is driving into Miami territory and facing 3rd and long, but Kiel throws a terrible pass that gets picked by Ladarius Gunter.
Richard Lewis/Icon Sportswire
Gunter's return gets wiped out because of a personal foul called on Corn Elder. Kaaya is still able to get his team into Cincinnati territory pretty quickly. He side-stepped away from the pass rush and delivered a decent pass to Herb Waters, who makes a pretty sweet catch with a defender draped all over him.
That's how the quarter would end, with Miami still leading 14-7.
2nd Quarter:
Miami's drive would stall after the teams switched sides and they punted it back to Cincinnati. The Bearcats returned the favor after their drive stalled because of a delay of game penalty. When Kaaya gets back on the field he delivers a dart to Waters over the middle for a 26 yard gain. Had Herb not been tackled by his shoestrings he probably would have scored. After McDermott gets flagged for an illegal block in the back, Yearby gains 22 yards to get inside the Bearcats' 30 yard line. Two plays later Kaaya goes play action and sees Dorsett getting behind the secondary. Kaaya lofts a pretty rainbow over the DB's head and Dorsett makes the grab for extend Miami's lead to 14 points.
Al Diaz/Miami Herald
21-7 Miami
Cincy responds by going on an 11 play drive where they converted on 3rd and 4th downs. Once they got inside Miami's 10 yard line, their drive stalled after Rod Moore lost 11 yards on a running play. On 3rd down Kiel's pass to Holton was caught in the back of the endzone, but Fentress and Howard managed to push him out of bounds before he could get his feet down. That's when Andrew Gantz came out to make a 33 yard field goal.
21-10 Miami
Miami quickly gets into the redzone with Duke and Yearby being themselves. Kaaya also finds Walford and Berrios with intermediate passes. Eventually Michael Badgley comes out and makes a 42 yard field goal to give Miami a 2 touchdown lead again.
24-10 Miami
Cincinnati wastes the final 46 seconds off the clock and the 1st half ends with Miami still leading 24-10. At halftime Miami honored Jonathan Vilma and the rest of the new members of the UM Sports Hall of Fame. #Canesfam couldn't be bothered to spend time paying respect to those players by staying in their seats an extra 5 minutes. I guess those nachos aren't going to buy themselves.
That's just disgraceful.
3rd Quarter:
Gunner Kiel comes out to try and pull his team within 1 score. But on the 2nd play from scrimmage he gets picked off by McCord, who returns it 46 yards for a touchdown.
31-10 Miami
Such a fluky play, but credit to McCord for keeping with it and showing great concentration. You just know that Dorito was sitting in the coaches booth, beaming with pride, thinking to himself, "See...that's why you drop defensive ends into coverage! So they can catch tipped interceptions 20 yards downfield!"
When Cincinnati comes back on the field Kiel has been yanked by Tubbs and Jarred Evans is now at QB. It doesn't help anything because they went 3 and out after a pass got broken up by Artie Burns. Burns made a really good play to break up that pass. Both teams exchange punts and then Miami catches a break. A Cincinnati player had his helmet pop off and he still tried to tackle a Miami player with the ball. That is a penalty apparently, and moved Miami across midfield. 3 plays later Duke gets the team in field goal range with a 27 yard run where put his awesome stiffarm on display again.
Robert Mayer/USA Today
Michael Badgley ends up coming out and kicks a 25 yard field goal.
34-10 Miami
Tubbs realizes that benching Kiel was a mistake and he puts him back on the field. Kiel responds by marching his team down the field and The Bearcats settle for another field goal by Andrew Gantz. This time from 46 yards out.
34-13 Miami
At this point Kaaya is tired of having to settle for field goals, so he decides to lob a floater to Dorsett off his back foot. Dorsett does the rest for a 79 yard touchdown.
Watching Kaaya work the play-action passing game is pretty fun.
Joel Auerbach/Getty Images
41-13 Miami
Kiel comes back out on the field with 3:16 remaining in the third quarter. He proceeds to lead an 11 play drive down to Miami's 5 yard line that brings the quarter to a close. The Bearcats are knocking on the door, but Miami still leads 41-13.
4th Quarter:
This quarter was insane. A total of 35 points was scored by both teams. On the first play of the final frame, Kiel fires a bullet through 2 Miami DB's and into the hands of Mekale McKay for a touchdown.
Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire
41-20 Miami
Miami responds quickly. After picking up 8 yards on 1st down, Yearby turns the corner races 62 yards down the left sideline to the Cincinnati 5 yard line.
Two plays later Kaaya put his head down and burrowed his way for the touchdown.
Al Diaz/Miami Herald
48-20 Miami
Cincinnati repsonded to that just as quickly. As soon as they got to midfield, Kiel found Max Morrison all alone running up the seam for a 45 yard touchdown pass. I'm sure there was supposed to be a safety back there somewhere, just not in view of any cameras.
Lynne Sladky/AP
48-27 Miami
Stacy Coley returned the ensuing kickoff 41 yards, but Miami had pulled all their starters from the game. The drive goes nowhere after Jake Heaps was flagged for intentional grounding. Miami got the ball right back though after Kirby picked off Kiel and returned it to the 15. However, stiff-arms are now apparently considered face-masks, because Kirby got flagged for one during the return. On top of that Kirby was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct as well. Being happy is considered a flag now as well. Gus Edwards didn't care. He came in and used a stiff arm of his own and barreled down the sideline for a 40 yard touchdown run.
Al Diaz/Miami Herald
Epic celebration there by Gus.
55-27 Miami
After getting to midfield, Cincy can't convert on 3rd and long, so they punt it away. Ryan Williams is now in the game, burning whatever slim chances he had for redshirting this year. 4 plays later Trayone Gray fumbles the ball, and Carter Jacobs strolls in for the 27 yard scoop and score.
Lynne Sladky/AP
At this point the scoring finally came to an end. Both teams traded 3 and outs before Miami knelt on the ball to end the game.
Final Score:
Cincinnati 34
Miami 55
Lynne Sladky/AP
I feel bad for Tubbs. Duke was interviewed after the game about passing Clinton Portis for 4th on the all-time rushing list.
[video=youtube;oN6w3Ry0KtQ]www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN6w3Ry0KtQ[/video]
No word yet on his thoughts on being FIRST IN SCHOOL HISTORY IN ALL-PURPOSE YARDAGE!
Miami finally gets a bye week in preparation for their Thursday night game in Blacksburg.
