Haven't sat down and watched the replay yet, but here are some general thoughts after watching the game in-person:
- Wisconsin is the type of team that exposes where you are weak. If Miami is at its best, Wisconsin can't play with them. But Miami isn't ready for primetime in a few areas, and they were all on display last night.
I'm not going to bash our coaching, but it was telling how each staff reacted to adversity. When Wisconsin went down 14-3, there was no panic in them. They continued to stick with what got them to the dance and did what they do...just grind you out. It was a sign of a well-coached, VETERAN team. They never got too up...never got too down, regardless of the stage.
Their players just showed signs of being in battles over their careers. Tindal and Nelson, veterans with a lot of hand play and holding that is obvious on replay, but refs don't pick up on. Even some of their younger players had some veteran tendencies, like their RT
#79 with the old hook but don't impede hold that refs often let happen under the guise of "it didn't impede a step". This is the type of **** that sent Richt off a cliff at the end of the half. The little dirty stuff that wasn't getting called is a hallmark of well coached, veteran teams in grind-y games like this.
On the other hand, Miami players and coaches were generally emotional last night from my seat. Constantly bickering and talking to the refs about non-calls or the Wisconsin players giving an extra push coming out of a scrum. That emotional nature really got to Miami between the whistles, too. You could see the frantic nature of the team, especially on offense, once they got down and things weren't working.
- The second issue is third-down defense. Miami was 65th this year. That's unacceptable for a team with an elite pass rush that finished second nationally in sacks per game. Wisconsin went 7-15 last night with several backbreakers. They just out-executed Miami. Chryst moved Hornibrook around and schemed to neutralize the rush, Hornibrook was accurate and the receivers made contested catches.
A lot to unpack here. To summarize, I just think Diaz got worked by Chryst in this game. He just seemed one step ahead of Diaz and as mentioned in other threads, if Miami isn't generating turnovers and points off turnovers, its a tough mountain for them to climb as a defense. Wisconsin did the little things, the nuances of a game better then Miami, especially on the outside and in the pass game, which shouldn't be the case for Miami.
- It was easy to notice the true freshmen on the field. Deejay Dallas, Jeff Thomas and Mike Harley are truly dynamic and should affect defensive gameplans going forward. Trajan Bandy and Navaughn Donaldson did what they do. Derrick Smith played a ton and stands out physically. Corey Gaynor needs to tighten up his pass blocking but also played. Jeff Feagles had his best game. Bradley Jennings got his most meaningful action, presumably because of his stoutness in the running game. Amari Carter and DeAndre Wilder made tackles on special teams. This is a young team.
We've been a young team for over a decade now. Year in and year out we just constantly have this excuse of being a "young team" with a lot of freshmen getting burn. Older recruiting classes lack the depth for players to develop as 4th and 5th year players to eat up playing time over the youth. This will be an excuse next year, too, as our stacked class will get a lot of playing time where it'll be an excuse for a season that takes some bad losses.
- The talk about Miami being physically overmatched is flat wrong, in my opinion. Miami actually outrushed Wisconsin (174 to 142) and almost doubled their yards per attempt (6.0 to 3.2). They just got out-executed by a well-coached team, particularly in the passing game.
Miami needed to run the ball more. Wisconsin ran the ball 44 times and as a result destroyed Miami in TOP. This exposes a lot of Miami's weaknesses defensively and exposes our lack of depth. Their ability to get into manageable third downs is on full display simply by their concerted effort to run the ball.
- This is a much different feeling than 2009 or 2013. The spirit was there. If there were any stretches of flat play, I chalk it up to deflating turnovers. That can turn around pretty quickly once the passing game inspires confidence again.
Definitely different then under Randy or Golden, but the question mark at QB, Richt's offensive playcalling, and the lack of attention to our run game still leave me feeling anxious about our future.
- There will be time to break down the roster going forward, but I think some of our major issues during the streak (DB depth, a playmaking void after the three big offensive injuries, QB competition) will be addressed by this class. I'll miss watching the seniors, especially Braxton Berrios and Chad Thomas. They left the program much better than they found it.
Berrios is going to be a player we talk about for a long time. He'll never have to buy a meal in Miami again.
