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4 days is long enough for me to be a mope after a loss. Here's a recap of how the game, and UM's ACC title hopes, came crashing down.
For the 13,752,035,724,507,245,792,459,072th time, Miami had the opportunity to take the Coastal Division and book their trip to the ACC Championship Game. And for the 13,752,035,724,507,245,792,459,072th time, they fell flat on their face. I've been debating whether I wanted to put myself through this by going over the game, drive by drive. My notes have been sitting on my desk at home all week just staring at me.
I'm still pretty butt-hurt about Saturday night. So there isn't going to be anything in here other than just regurgitating what happened. No real commentary. I recommend you read this if you want to read something well thought out. If you choose to read any further, it will be like cutting yourself. Come to think of it, being a Miami fan for the past 10 years is a lot like being a cutter. So be sure to put on your favorite Sunny Day Real Estate or My Chemical Romance album before continuing.
Highlights:
[video=youtube;ZGoNKbzWr-o]www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGoNKbzWr-o[/video]
Here is what I said were the 3 obvious story lines in the game day post.
1. Can one of Duke's backups step up in his absence?
Outside of 1 big run up the middle by Dallas, the running game was completely shut down. UM had just 28 yards on 24 carries as a team. Yikes. If not for 2 big passing plays to Coley and Hurns, UM would have lost by even more.
2. Can Miami win the special teams battle?
My exact words were:
3. Can Miami protect the football?
Just read #2 over again.
Let's recap.
Before we get started, someone at UM thought these were a good idea:
I've already let it be known how much I hated them, and I don't really care if any of you liked them. If you did, all I have to say is you're wrong. They suck. At this point I just want names.
1st Quarter:
UM wins the toss and defers to the 2nd half. Virginia Tech can't do anything and punt it back to UM. On UM's 2nd play from scrimmage Morris throws a screen to Coley. Coley wants to bee-ee-eee-ee-eeeeee famous, famous, famous, so he houses it 81 yards for the score.
7-0 Miami
Things are looking good out of the gate. On second down of VT's next possession, Shayon Green blows up a zone read option play before it can get going.
He went straight to the running back and Logan Thomas handed it off anyway. It set up a 3rd & 16, and the Hokies ended up having to punt it back to UM. Coley makes a guy miss and the seas part as he begins to cross midfield. All he has to do is make a good move on the punter and he has a chance to take it to the endzone. Problem is, the punter sticks his helmet right on the ball and it pops out.
The Hokies jump all over it and they take over at their own 46. 2 plays later Thomas throws it to D.J. Coles, who is wide open on a crossing route (a common theme throughout the night) for a 24 yard gain. 2 plays later Thomas goes back to Coles for a 14 yard gain to set up 1st and goal. On the next play Trey Edmunds runs off the left side for a 10 yard TD run.
Tied 7-7
It's not the end of the world. It's just 1 turnover, right? Artie Burns seems thinks so. He makes a couple nice cuts and takes the ensuing return to midfield, but he gets hit from behind and fumbles it too.
Frustrating for Artie. Al's preparing his **** because he knows that the Hokies are comin'. It's now the Hokie's football at their own 49. On 2nd down, Thomas scrambles 18 yards to move his team into the redzone. 2 plays later he finds Joshua Stanford for a 13 yard gain. Tracy Howard strips him of the ball and it just sits there for what seems like forever.
But D.J. Coles jumps on it and it's now 1st and goal at Miami's 2 yard line. Trey Edmunds wastes no time and notches his 2nd touchdown of the game on the very next play.
14-7 Hokies
Look at that gif and tell me which dance you think our defensive line is trying to do with the Hokie's offensive linemen. Waltz? Tango? Samba? I can't decide.
Corn Elder is now on the field and takes the return out to the 45 yard line. He also didn't fumble it. Crown him. The last time Stephen Morris was on the field Miami had just scored to go up 7-0. He finally comes back on and now they're down 14-7. Miami can't do anything with it and punt it back to VT. Thomas dumps it off to his fullback Sam Rogers who rumbles 18 yards down the field. He was wide open in the flat. 2 plays later Artie Burns drills Joshua Stanford to set up a 3rd and long. The Hokies can't convert and the quarter ends with them facing 4th & 3, but still leading 14-7.
2nd Quarter:
The Hokies punt to start the 2nd quarter and Miami goes 3 & out. They set up to punt and the snap is low. O'Donnell has to bend over to catch it and his knee dips down and makes contact with the ground. The ref was all over it and blew the play dead immediately.
It's now Virginia Tech ball at the 17 yard line. 2 plays later Edmunds runs it in on the left side for his 3rd touchdown of the game.
21-7 Hokies
Miami starts moving the ball on their next possession. James Coley calls a sneaky play where Hurns slips underneath on a sort of a screen pass, which goes for 24 yards. 2 plays later, Dadi Nicolas takes a cheap shot by planting his helmet into the chest of Morris to give Miami another 15 yards. Later Morris lobs a ball over the head of whichever DB was trying to cover Hurns. Hurns makes a great catch down the sideline all the way to the 1. It gets reviewed and upheld. 2 plays later Dallas leaps into the endzone to cut the Hokies lead in half.
21-14 Hokies
When Virginia Tech gets the ball back they don't waste any time moving the ball. Literally. They snap it before Miami's defense even gets lined up and gain 9 yards because of it. After back to back 11 yard completions to Willie Byrn, they get inside Miami's 40 yard line. A few plays later Perryman comes in on a blitz and drags down Thomas to set up 3rd and forever at the 32 yard line. Normally, you start thinking, "Ok, worst case scenario, they pick up 8 yards and kick a field goal". But then you remember what this defense has done (or not done) on 3rd and long for the past 3 years. So as crazy as the next play was, it shouldn't even be a surprise to you anymore. In fact, it should be expected from these guys. I'm not even going to say anything else about what happened next. This gif from some Hokie fan encapsulates it perfectly.
28-14 Hokies
On the 1st play Miami's next possession Dallas Crawford gets blown up by Luther Maddy for a loss of 5.
Luther Maddy didn't get recruited by Randy Shannon. I don't even care anymore. 2 plays later it's 3rd and 15 and Morris runs out of bounds for a 4 yard gain. It's a 3 & out, and the boo birds poke their heads out for the 1st time. When Virginia Tech gets the ball back, Perryman gets his 2nd sack of the game to force a punt and Golden uses a timeout to give Morris some time to get points before halftime. James Gayle sacks Morris on the 1st play of the series and Miami goes 3 & out again. More boos. Virginia Tech kneels on the ball to end the half still leading 28-14.
The sideline chick interviews Beamer at halftime, and he can barely contain the ****-eating grin on his face when she brings up the 3 special teams turnovers.
3rd Quarter:
Miami goes 3 & out again to begin the half. It doesn't do much good to defer to the 2nd half if you keep going 3 and out every week. Virginia Tech goes back to what every opponent has done to us all year. Dump offs to the back in the flat or over the middle, crossing routes, and throwback screens to their tight end. Their drive stalls on Miami's 32 yard line and the Hokies line up for a long field goal. They don't get the play off and are flagged for delay of game. They do the same thing again on the next play and end up punting it back to Miami. It seemed like a big deal at the time.
Miami takes over at their own 14 and are in desperate need of points. It was at this point Dallas Crawford remembered that he was playing and ran 35 tough yards up the middle and into Hokie territory. 3 plays later Miami runs a rub route where Hurns sets a pick on a DB, with Waters running a wheel route behind it. It was the 1st time since the FAU game that I remember Coley going to it. It works perfectly, except for the part where Waters catches it.
It would have been a touchdown. In his defense, it was a bit under thrown. You know what? **** that. He should have caught it. It's now 4th & 4 and Golden elects to go for it. Morris drops back, sees nothing, and scrambles for the 1st down. 3 plays later it's 3rd & long and Morris sees Waters open again. He lobs a jump ball for him, but Brandon Facyson is there to make a great play and strip the ball out. Miami settles for a Goudis field goal.
28-17 Hokies
On the next possession, Miami continues to suck at tackling. In no time the Hokies are at midfield. 2 plays later Thomas gets tackled for a short gain and his helmet comes off to set up 3rd and 12. Thomas leaves the field and his backup comes on the field. Beamer thinks better of it and calls timeout so that Thomas can be on the field for the next play. I didn't know you could do that. Now I wish you couldn't. After the break Thomas finds a wide open Willie Byrn on a crossing route who runs all the way down to the the 10 yard line. Gunter is there for what seems like the touchdown saving strip.
However, it rolls into the endzone and Demitri Knowles is there for the recovery and touchdown.
35-17 Hokies
You just can't make up what happened in this game. On Miami's 1st play of the ensuing drive, Morris gets sacked for a loss of 7. After that, the fans start chanting, "Ry-an Will-iams". On the next play Morris responds by going deep to Hurns for an 84 yard touchdown.
35-24 Hokies
The same fans who were booing Morris and chanting for his backup were now cheering him. Morris didn't really want to hear it.
Miami's defense quickly forces the Hokies into 3rd & long. So naturally they give up an 19 yard pass on a crossing route for another 1st down. They do it again on the next play for a gain of 18 yards. The quarter ends with the Hokies having 1st down at UM's 32 yard line, still leading 35-24.
4th Quarter:
Miami desperately needs a stop, or at least force VT into a field goal. It doesn't happen. The Hokies march their way toward the endzone with little resistance. Trey Edmunds tacks on his 4th and final touchdown several plays later.
42-24 Hokies
Miami goes 3 & out, and punt it back to Virginia Tech with 11:03 left on the clock. Virginia Tech proceeds to go on a 16 play, 77 yard drive that drains over 9 minutes of time off the clock. They converted 4 out of 5 times on 3rd down along the way. 3 of those 4 successful 3rd down conversions were of distances of 5 yards or more. It wasn't until they forced a turnover on downs inside their own 5 yard line that Miami's defense got off the field. When Miami's offense came back out, there was only 1:57 left in the game. When Miami gets the ball back they quickly cross midfield. Once they do, Bud Foster sends his 1st unit back on the field.
That guy is a beast. The game ends after an 11 yard pass to Dallas Crawford.
Final Score:
Virginia Tech 42
Miami 24
That's back to back losses where the final score was a palindrome. That's my only take away from these awful 2 games. Now Miami has to rely on Virginia Tech losing to either Maryland or Virginia to have any chance at backing into the ACC title game. Maryland and Virginia are a combined 1-10 in ACC play. Two weeks ago we had a chance at a BCS Bowl berth. Now we'll be lucky to play in the Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando. It would actually be fitting if that was our bowl game. The entire fanbase is pretty **** rustled right now.
For the 13,752,035,724,507,245,792,459,072th time, Miami had the opportunity to take the Coastal Division and book their trip to the ACC Championship Game. And for the 13,752,035,724,507,245,792,459,072th time, they fell flat on their face. I've been debating whether I wanted to put myself through this by going over the game, drive by drive. My notes have been sitting on my desk at home all week just staring at me.
I'm still pretty butt-hurt about Saturday night. So there isn't going to be anything in here other than just regurgitating what happened. No real commentary. I recommend you read this if you want to read something well thought out. If you choose to read any further, it will be like cutting yourself. Come to think of it, being a Miami fan for the past 10 years is a lot like being a cutter. So be sure to put on your favorite Sunny Day Real Estate or My Chemical Romance album before continuing.
Highlights:
[video=youtube;ZGoNKbzWr-o]www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGoNKbzWr-o[/video]
Here is what I said were the 3 obvious story lines in the game day post.
1. Can one of Duke's backups step up in his absence?
Outside of 1 big run up the middle by Dallas, the running game was completely shut down. UM had just 28 yards on 24 carries as a team. Yikes. If not for 2 big passing plays to Coley and Hurns, UM would have lost by even more.
2. Can Miami win the special teams battle?
My exact words were:
Back to back fumbles on special teams led to VT's 1st 14 points. Coley's return would have set UM up in Hokie territory to possibly take a 14-0 lead. Instead, VT had great field position and took advantage of the gift they were given. Then Burns gave it back again on the ensuing kickoff after another great return. VT went right down the field again and scored. After O'Donnell's goof on the low snap, VT had 3 scoring drives that began at midfield or closer. They capitalized on all 3 and that might as well have been the game. Beamer Ball, yo.
3. Can Miami protect the football?
Just read #2 over again.
Let's recap.
Before we get started, someone at UM thought these were a good idea:
I've already let it be known how much I hated them, and I don't really care if any of you liked them. If you did, all I have to say is you're wrong. They suck. At this point I just want names.
1st Quarter:
UM wins the toss and defers to the 2nd half. Virginia Tech can't do anything and punt it back to UM. On UM's 2nd play from scrimmage Morris throws a screen to Coley. Coley wants to bee-ee-eee-ee-eeeeee famous, famous, famous, so he houses it 81 yards for the score.
7-0 Miami
Things are looking good out of the gate. On second down of VT's next possession, Shayon Green blows up a zone read option play before it can get going.
He went straight to the running back and Logan Thomas handed it off anyway. It set up a 3rd & 16, and the Hokies ended up having to punt it back to UM. Coley makes a guy miss and the seas part as he begins to cross midfield. All he has to do is make a good move on the punter and he has a chance to take it to the endzone. Problem is, the punter sticks his helmet right on the ball and it pops out.
The Hokies jump all over it and they take over at their own 46. 2 plays later Thomas throws it to D.J. Coles, who is wide open on a crossing route (a common theme throughout the night) for a 24 yard gain. 2 plays later Thomas goes back to Coles for a 14 yard gain to set up 1st and goal. On the next play Trey Edmunds runs off the left side for a 10 yard TD run.
Tied 7-7
It's not the end of the world. It's just 1 turnover, right? Artie Burns seems thinks so. He makes a couple nice cuts and takes the ensuing return to midfield, but he gets hit from behind and fumbles it too.
Frustrating for Artie. Al's preparing his **** because he knows that the Hokies are comin'. It's now the Hokie's football at their own 49. On 2nd down, Thomas scrambles 18 yards to move his team into the redzone. 2 plays later he finds Joshua Stanford for a 13 yard gain. Tracy Howard strips him of the ball and it just sits there for what seems like forever.
But D.J. Coles jumps on it and it's now 1st and goal at Miami's 2 yard line. Trey Edmunds wastes no time and notches his 2nd touchdown of the game on the very next play.
14-7 Hokies
Look at that gif and tell me which dance you think our defensive line is trying to do with the Hokie's offensive linemen. Waltz? Tango? Samba? I can't decide.
Corn Elder is now on the field and takes the return out to the 45 yard line. He also didn't fumble it. Crown him. The last time Stephen Morris was on the field Miami had just scored to go up 7-0. He finally comes back on and now they're down 14-7. Miami can't do anything with it and punt it back to VT. Thomas dumps it off to his fullback Sam Rogers who rumbles 18 yards down the field. He was wide open in the flat. 2 plays later Artie Burns drills Joshua Stanford to set up a 3rd and long. The Hokies can't convert and the quarter ends with them facing 4th & 3, but still leading 14-7.
2nd Quarter:
The Hokies punt to start the 2nd quarter and Miami goes 3 & out. They set up to punt and the snap is low. O'Donnell has to bend over to catch it and his knee dips down and makes contact with the ground. The ref was all over it and blew the play dead immediately.
It's now Virginia Tech ball at the 17 yard line. 2 plays later Edmunds runs it in on the left side for his 3rd touchdown of the game.
21-7 Hokies
Miami starts moving the ball on their next possession. James Coley calls a sneaky play where Hurns slips underneath on a sort of a screen pass, which goes for 24 yards. 2 plays later, Dadi Nicolas takes a cheap shot by planting his helmet into the chest of Morris to give Miami another 15 yards. Later Morris lobs a ball over the head of whichever DB was trying to cover Hurns. Hurns makes a great catch down the sideline all the way to the 1. It gets reviewed and upheld. 2 plays later Dallas leaps into the endzone to cut the Hokies lead in half.
21-14 Hokies
When Virginia Tech gets the ball back they don't waste any time moving the ball. Literally. They snap it before Miami's defense even gets lined up and gain 9 yards because of it. After back to back 11 yard completions to Willie Byrn, they get inside Miami's 40 yard line. A few plays later Perryman comes in on a blitz and drags down Thomas to set up 3rd and forever at the 32 yard line. Normally, you start thinking, "Ok, worst case scenario, they pick up 8 yards and kick a field goal". But then you remember what this defense has done (or not done) on 3rd and long for the past 3 years. So as crazy as the next play was, it shouldn't even be a surprise to you anymore. In fact, it should be expected from these guys. I'm not even going to say anything else about what happened next. This gif from some Hokie fan encapsulates it perfectly.
28-14 Hokies
On the 1st play Miami's next possession Dallas Crawford gets blown up by Luther Maddy for a loss of 5.
Luther Maddy didn't get recruited by Randy Shannon. I don't even care anymore. 2 plays later it's 3rd and 15 and Morris runs out of bounds for a 4 yard gain. It's a 3 & out, and the boo birds poke their heads out for the 1st time. When Virginia Tech gets the ball back, Perryman gets his 2nd sack of the game to force a punt and Golden uses a timeout to give Morris some time to get points before halftime. James Gayle sacks Morris on the 1st play of the series and Miami goes 3 & out again. More boos. Virginia Tech kneels on the ball to end the half still leading 28-14.
The sideline chick interviews Beamer at halftime, and he can barely contain the ****-eating grin on his face when she brings up the 3 special teams turnovers.
3rd Quarter:
Miami goes 3 & out again to begin the half. It doesn't do much good to defer to the 2nd half if you keep going 3 and out every week. Virginia Tech goes back to what every opponent has done to us all year. Dump offs to the back in the flat or over the middle, crossing routes, and throwback screens to their tight end. Their drive stalls on Miami's 32 yard line and the Hokies line up for a long field goal. They don't get the play off and are flagged for delay of game. They do the same thing again on the next play and end up punting it back to Miami. It seemed like a big deal at the time.
Miami takes over at their own 14 and are in desperate need of points. It was at this point Dallas Crawford remembered that he was playing and ran 35 tough yards up the middle and into Hokie territory. 3 plays later Miami runs a rub route where Hurns sets a pick on a DB, with Waters running a wheel route behind it. It was the 1st time since the FAU game that I remember Coley going to it. It works perfectly, except for the part where Waters catches it.
It would have been a touchdown. In his defense, it was a bit under thrown. You know what? **** that. He should have caught it. It's now 4th & 4 and Golden elects to go for it. Morris drops back, sees nothing, and scrambles for the 1st down. 3 plays later it's 3rd & long and Morris sees Waters open again. He lobs a jump ball for him, but Brandon Facyson is there to make a great play and strip the ball out. Miami settles for a Goudis field goal.
28-17 Hokies
On the next possession, Miami continues to suck at tackling. In no time the Hokies are at midfield. 2 plays later Thomas gets tackled for a short gain and his helmet comes off to set up 3rd and 12. Thomas leaves the field and his backup comes on the field. Beamer thinks better of it and calls timeout so that Thomas can be on the field for the next play. I didn't know you could do that. Now I wish you couldn't. After the break Thomas finds a wide open Willie Byrn on a crossing route who runs all the way down to the the 10 yard line. Gunter is there for what seems like the touchdown saving strip.
However, it rolls into the endzone and Demitri Knowles is there for the recovery and touchdown.
35-17 Hokies
You just can't make up what happened in this game. On Miami's 1st play of the ensuing drive, Morris gets sacked for a loss of 7. After that, the fans start chanting, "Ry-an Will-iams". On the next play Morris responds by going deep to Hurns for an 84 yard touchdown.
35-24 Hokies
The same fans who were booing Morris and chanting for his backup were now cheering him. Morris didn't really want to hear it.
Miami's defense quickly forces the Hokies into 3rd & long. So naturally they give up an 19 yard pass on a crossing route for another 1st down. They do it again on the next play for a gain of 18 yards. The quarter ends with the Hokies having 1st down at UM's 32 yard line, still leading 35-24.
4th Quarter:
Miami desperately needs a stop, or at least force VT into a field goal. It doesn't happen. The Hokies march their way toward the endzone with little resistance. Trey Edmunds tacks on his 4th and final touchdown several plays later.
42-24 Hokies
Miami goes 3 & out, and punt it back to Virginia Tech with 11:03 left on the clock. Virginia Tech proceeds to go on a 16 play, 77 yard drive that drains over 9 minutes of time off the clock. They converted 4 out of 5 times on 3rd down along the way. 3 of those 4 successful 3rd down conversions were of distances of 5 yards or more. It wasn't until they forced a turnover on downs inside their own 5 yard line that Miami's defense got off the field. When Miami's offense came back out, there was only 1:57 left in the game. When Miami gets the ball back they quickly cross midfield. Once they do, Bud Foster sends his 1st unit back on the field.
That guy is a beast. The game ends after an 11 yard pass to Dallas Crawford.
Final Score:
Virginia Tech 42
Miami 24
That's back to back losses where the final score was a palindrome. That's my only take away from these awful 2 games. Now Miami has to rely on Virginia Tech losing to either Maryland or Virginia to have any chance at backing into the ACC title game. Maryland and Virginia are a combined 1-10 in ACC play. Two weeks ago we had a chance at a BCS Bowl berth. Now we'll be lucky to play in the Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando. It would actually be fitting if that was our bowl game. The entire fanbase is pretty **** rustled right now.
