FL Cane
Senior
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2018
- Messages
- 4,598
I said before this game that this was the most important Hurricanes football game in 22 years. With an OSU loss today, a Miami win would've clinched an ACC Championship Game and CFP Berth. No more. Here's where things stand today, emotions aside:
- This is - without a doubt - the worst Miami loss of the Mario Cristobal Era. Miami needed to find a way to win this game and they absolutely blew it.
- Miami started the game hot with a 21-0 lead, and followed up an elite 1Q by giving up a 42-17 run to Syracuse. Inexcusable and honestly, unforgivable.
- Mario Cristobal has a choice to make at the end of this season regarding his defensive staff. It's an easy one: Mario should dismiss the the entire defensive staff, top to bottom. He needs to hire a proven DC and let that DC build his staff from the bottom up.
- Lance Guidry is one of the worst defensive coordinators in Miami Hurricanes History. He is huge reason why Miami may have wasted a Heisman level QB in Cam Ward.
- Shannon Dawson has zero feel for the game. Our offense went into a shell which gave Syracuse the opportunity to get back into the game. Whenever something is working, he flips the switch and goes away from what's proven to work.
- Again, there is ZERO reason that any team should be able to come back down 21-0 against the best offense in the country.
- We continue to make back breaking mistakes in the form of (1) penalties or (2) turnovers. It's been a problem the entire Mario era, and there's no sign it'll stop anytime soon. We, unfortunately, have some shortsighted and emotional players.
- There's been a common refrain with Mario over his career: elite recruiter, but a subpar gameday coach that'll cost a team 1-3 games a year. The buck stops with Mario as HC, though he's not the primary reason for today's loss. One massive mistake though was his choice to kick the FG. We needed to go for it there; at worst we back them up.
- This season feels much like the end of the 2017 season: a disappointing end that derailed a potentially special season. 10 wins is "progress" for the program, but with a Heisman QB and the #1 team in the country, the result is disappointing regardless.
- Miami - amazingly - still has a path to the CFP. With losses to a 7-5 and 9-3 team, and a margin of loss of 4 and 5 points, there's an argument to be made that we are better than any of the 9-3 SEC teams. Alabama and Ole Miss have far worse losses than us. Texas hasn't beat anyone. And if Texas losses tonight and A&M losses in the SEC championship, there's a shot. Boise could also lose in its conference championship game. OSU losing also throws a wrench into seeding Nevertheless, this team doesn't deserve it.
- The goal now is two-fold: hope for a CFP miracle, and if not, hope for a bowl win (which we haven't done in 8-years). 11-2 is progress that can be sold to recruits, as disappointing as today was.
