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After the Storm: Wisconsin

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I'M hoping Pricht goes and refuses to hire an OC and then see what happens....I want to see if we have anyone on the BOT with a set of nuts to lead a band of members to demand his firing cause we all know Flake won't do it cause he's scared of him.
 
Nice piece, Stefan, but it's ridiculous that Richt is still here.

Great guy, but he's lost either the ability or the desire to coach a Top 25 programme anymore.

Everyone can see that - why does he get another season to prove it?

The worst case scenario is we miraculously hire a good OC and he papers over the cracks.
 
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Stefan Adams said:
I wouldn’t blame you if, after a month away from the field, a semblance of hope for this Miami Hurricanes team and their future started creeping into your mind.

After all, the Canes were coming off a two-game winning streak and a month to prepare for a very average 7-5 Wisconsin Badgers team that was blown out AT HOME by Minnesota in their regular season finale. Minnesota. A chance to head into 2019 with some small sense of positive momentum.

However, it seems like the Canes never fail to deliver that gut punch that sends you careening back to reality. In an embarrassing effort that you could only just shake your head at, Miami was whipped up and down the field to the tune of a 35-3 loss to Wisconsin in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on Thursday night, mercifully bringing a nightmare season to a close.

In fact, the Yankees’ offense might have been a better bet to put more on the scoreboard than the Canes did last night.

Who would have thought that the once promising 2018 season would have to end with the head coach getting a vote of confidence from his AD?

“Our football team’s performance tonight – and at other times this season – is simply unacceptable to all of us who love the U,” Blake James said in a statement after the game. “I am committed to getting UM football back to national prominence and that process is underway. We will compete for ACC and national championships and I know that Coach Richt is alongside me in that commitment to excellence.”

The mere fact that it even had to be said by James should be a sign that Miami football (and Richt’s job security) is in dire straits headed into the 2019 offseason. There’s no way to sugarcoat it anymore: after Miami’s disgusting performance last night (and throughout the entire season) Mark Richt deserved to be fired, Lane Kiffin on the tarmac style.

For political reasons, that won’t happen. Not this season. But no, Miami football is decidedly not heading in the right direction and my opinion is that Richt will not survive another season of more of the same in 2019, politics or not.

Top-level boosters have been focused and frequent in clamoring for an offensive coordinator throughout the season. Those calls are only going to get louder in the coming days. And it’s only one short step from calling for the head coach’s job.

Don’t get caught up in the total wins and losses. What really matters is how Miami is losing, and who they are losing to.

The Canes went 7-6 this season, dropping 5 of those games not to the upper echelon of college football, but to 7-5 teams. Virginia, Boston College, Duke, Georgia Tech, Wisconsin. None of which recruit even close to the level that Miami does.

The facts are that elite coaches are not losing in that manner by year three.

A lot of people want to bring up Dabo Swinney and how he brought Clemson into the national spotlight after going 6-7 in his third season. They don’t want to bring up that for every Swinney, there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of head coaches that washed out after similar third seasons.

The differences from Richt? Even after finishing under .500 in year 3 in 2010, Swinney was a relentless recruiter and still brought in a top 10 class during the ensuing 2011 cycle.

Right now, Miami’s 2019 class is sitting at 33rd in the country even when looking at the most favorable metrics with a little over a month to go in the cycle.

Not to mention it has been proven Swinney is willing to make the necessary tough changes to turn his program into a consistent winner. Even after winning the ACC Championship in 2011, it wasn’t enough: Swinney got rid of his defensive coordinator and brought in Brent Venables over the 2012 offseason, setting the stage for 4 consecutive Playoff appearances and a National Title in the years to come.

Does anybody believe Richt is willing to do the same with an offense that was not even close to ACC Champion caliber and struggled to finish in the top 100 nationally this season?

That’s the sad state of affairs for Miami football right now.

While the offense has never been confused for a stalwart during Richt’s tenure in Miami, this season featured a complete bottoming out of Richt’s scheme in the most inept fashion possible; Wisconsin was just the perfect cherry on top.

Actually, inept may be too kind. Miami had more turnovers (5) than points (3) against the Badgers last night, and had almost as many giveaways as first downs (6). Their 169 total yards was the lowest output in Richt’s tenure, and the UM offense’s worst performance since the 2013 loss to Louisville (174 yards). Miami quarterbacks have now completed a combined 12 of 41 passes in their past two games. 29%. You can add to that 100 yards. Total. To go along with a 0-4 TD-INT ratio. None of that’s is a typo.

For a coach whose calling card is supposed to be quarterbacks, that’s an astounding regression from the days of even Jacory Harris and Stephen Morris. And that’s just on the field. The QB room has been an abomination off the field as well and I don’t need to go into detail. The mismanagement of this position group in all facets this season would have gotten pretty much every QB coach in America fired the second the clock hit zero in the final game.

No, QB is not the only issue, but I’m not going to harp on all the problems because I’ve been discussing the same few things the entire season and it’s really just exhausting by now. I’m going to keep it simple: Richt will make the necessary changes this offseason and have a chance at saving his UM legacy. Or he won’t, it will be more of the same for Miami next season, and he will be terminated.

Nothing more needs to be said.


Grades

Offense: F

5 turnovers. 169 total yards. 3 points. 6 first downs. Against a defense that had given up 37 points to Minnesota in their last game. Miami ran 40 total plays and barely had 20 mins of TOP. An absolutely fireable effort for all involved.


Defense: C

Yes, the defense was put in horrible positions all night yet again by the offense after they turned the ball over 5 times in UM territory. Yes, they were facing an elite rushing attack and were missing their best player up front. No, giving up 333 yards on the ground against a one-dimensional team with a backup QB can’t get you any more than a C. 10 TFL, 3 sacks, and Jaquan Johnson’s INT help this grade.


Special Teams: B

Bubba Baxa knocked home his only FG attempt and had a solid season considering he was a huge question mark coming into 2018. Jack Spicer got some lucky bounces to finish with a 41.0 ypp average on 5 punts, landing 2 inside the 20. DeeJay Dallas had a nice 35 yard punt return and UM let up no big returns on the coverage units. Baxa’s kick out of bounce to start the game was the lone negative. Solid effort but nothing spectacular earns a B.


Coaching: F

With a month to prepare, UM again showed no new wrinkles. The team again looked unprepared and asleep for a game on the national stage. Not getting an extended look at Jarren Williams was a failure in my opinion. The coaches kept doing the same things that have not been working expecting different results, the definition of insanity.
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OldhamA said:
Nice piece, Stefan, but it's ridiculous that Richt is still here.

Great guy, but he's lost either the ability or the desire to coach a Top 25 programme anymore.

Everyone can see that - why does he get another season to prove it?

The worst case scenario is we miraculously hire a good OC and he papers over the cracks.
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Richt isn't a great guy.
 
MizCane said:
Pretty spot on. Unreal that we have bottomed out after pummeling ND on national television with one of the best gameday outmospheres ever at a university off site.
That day at least showed the Admin a glimpse of what we can be with right staff whether it’s a high level OC or a complete change.
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And this why I think the BOT, or whoever really calls the shot pulls the plug on cmr. They’ve seen it, got a real taste of the revenue when you really invest in your FB program. They had to be sold after the Game Day stop. Like SA said, if he doesn’t produce next year will be his last. They will not wait on puss *** bj, hopefully he goes to.
 
It was inexcusable from the get go to allow Richt to hire his inexperienced son to be the QB coach at the U. All the QB's brought in under their watch were suspended this season, none are getting developed, & they were unable to attract any QB's during this recruiting cycle. Yet Richt Jr. is still there and the program is in shambles. If MR won't do the right thing, force changes on him & if he doesn't like it, he can quit and the university won't have to pay him the reminder of his contract. Go get Cristobal at Oregon, tons of energy, great recruiter, and a former Cane.
 
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storm warnings said:
It was inexcusable from the get go to allow Richt to hire his inexperienced son to be the QB coach at the U. All the QB's brought in under their watch were suspended this season, none are getting developed, & they were unable to attract any QB's during this recruiting cycle. Yet Richt Jr. is still there and the program is in shambles. If MR won't do the right thing, force changes on him & if he doesn't like it, he can quit and the university won't have to pay him the reminder of his contract. Go get Cristobal at Oregon, tons of energy, great recruiter, and a former Cane.
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Babscanes said:
I feel bad for the kids who trusted this staff to develop them. The last three years of offense have been abysmal. No creativity at all. I actually miss the days of Jed Fish and James Coley. We basically switched out Goldens bad D for Richts bad O.

At this point I don't think Miami ever gets back. The pace at which we are being left behind by the CFB elites is staggering.

The AD is not helping either. Its a Georgia repeat here with forcing Richt to hire an OC. How did that work out? I am done with coaching retreads. Give me a guy who has demonstrated he can win at any level. Someone who has done it 1AA or D2 and moved up and continued to win. Those guys know how to coach with less. Miami needs coaches who develop talent not waste it. We are not getting the elites anymore so that's a requirement.

DINO BABERS is a good example. I know there are more.
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Babers can beat Clemson with Syracuse talent. Does that mean he can do it here? No. However, I am all for hiring him and finding out.
 
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Macca21 said:
Did his family win powerball to pay for
Recruits when he rolls in on his horse?
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Are we acting like Oregon is the new Bama? Either way, him coming to Miami wouldn’t be a business decision, he would be doing it out of passion not logic. I’m not even sure he’s the right guy, I’m just saying that I think he’d leave Oregon for Miami.
 
NE Canes said:
This cannot be stated enough.

Of course people will forget next year when Rciht is 5-1 after beating a bunch a scrubs.

The problems here are not going to be fixed by Richt winning 9 games vs the pitiful ACC coastal.
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I am not sure why you assume we are going to win 5-1. This year’s schedule was equal **** and we were lucky to win 7 games. The year before we were lucky to get to ND undefeated. The defense is not going to be there to mask the offense’s impotence next season.
 
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