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Thoughts On Our Win Against 1-7 (1-6)

CanesSkins26 said:
Re. Dawson, it’s mind blowing how we continue to underutilize Arroyo in this offense, especially with how FSU was playing our receivers. Arguably our most talented offensive skill player outside of Cam and he has 38 yards receiving the last 3 games combined.
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massive red flag we can’t scheme arroyo into the game a little more. He should battle X for team lead in receptions. Good target on those useless screens as well or up the seams vs LBs in man
 

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Good stuff. I’ll just throw out a couple things I picked up on besides the really obvious stuff.

Run blocking against the best line they’ve played this year was 10/10. They shoved around Farmer and Jackson and that’s not nothing.

Francis still struggles against speed rushers. He got caught blocking nobody a few times when they brought pressure from his side. You CAN’T just stand there with your arms out like the world’s biggest turnstile. You gotta at least get one guy and hope the back can chip the other.

Kiko was really good in man coverage. He didn’t bite on the misdirection or play fake and stuck to FSU’s backs very well. That’s not his game but he did a great job and deserves credit.

Some weird calls by the referees. Not that they hammered either team with a ton of bad calls but they were oddly okay with not blowing plays dead, especially when FSU’s quarterbacks were running into the pile. If the player’s forward momentum is stopped they need to blow the whistle. There were times where a UM defender could have just leveled an FSU quarterback essentially after momentum was completely stopped because the refs didn’t blow the whistle. Given how they protect quarterbacks it’s crazy that they let them just keep playing as much as they did.
 
It was a weird game. But I’m happy with the way we played.

I seen some criticism online that we hadn’t blown them out by halftime. But we scored in 3/4 drives that half. Their only score was the result of a drive with a couple fluky plays.

Against a more competent team we’re playing more aggressively in the 2nd half instead of settling for FGs. But our staff knew FSU couldn’t score.

I will say Ward did a good job of not forcing things and making bad throws… but his accuracy was off, over throwing a few players.. Even on many completions he threw high limiting YAC.

If we could’ve did better on 4th downs it would’ve been a real whooping. And if Baron could quit overrunning the QB. Too many scrambles or runs his way after he goes zooming by every game
 
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FL Cane said:
Let me say this first, this game was plain weird. The expectations coming in were that Miami would win comfortably, and that they did. We covered, and were in control the whole game. Nevertheless, the game was closer for awhile than most expected, albeit Miami was in complete control. Here's some thoughts on this game and going into next week.

Offense
  • I had been saying, before the UL game, that Damien Martinez was going to make himself know. Finally, he has become a centerpiece of our offense. Another big day with 148 on the ground, and multiple TDs. He will be crucial going forward.
  • God bless Mark Fletcher. He just went through a tremendous loss and played with pride and confidence. His dad was a great guy, and it's evident his son has inherited the same traits. He ran well tonight and converted some key 4th downs.
  • Zay Horton is WR1 material for next year. Great route runner and doesn't drop anything that comes his way. Quick in space too. That Offensive PI call was egregious and not at all on him. He will continue to emerge as the season goes on.
  • Quiet night from the rest of the WRs. Restrepo had a quiet game (his 3rd down conversion was wiped out by a terrible OI call) and JG3 had a key third down conversion catch. Sam Brown also had a catch or two, but again, quiet night.
  • Cam Ward had a whatever night (for his standards at least). 22/35 for 208 and a TD reception. But that wasn't the only story, which leads to the next bullet point...
  • The OL was horrific in pass protection. They gave up 4 sacks and a bunch of pressures. Just a completely inexcusable performance from them. Carpenter looked lost on multiple plays, and FSUs DEs worked us. I have no doubt that Mirabal will be merciless with this unit this week. Bar none, the worst unit tonight.
  • Borregales continues to be one of the best kickers in the country. 3/3 on the night.
  • This game reminded me a lot of FSUs matchup against Clemson. Clemson won that game 29-13. There was no doubt who was in control, but FSU did enough to bend and not break.
  • We scored on all but 1 of our drives tonight. We just stalled out inside the 35 too much.
  • Tonight was also a proof of concept that we can beat teams in multiple ways. I said this at the start of the season as a reason for optimism. Cam's not on? Here's Martinez and Fletcher. Run game isn't on? Here's Cam. The reality is Team's have to sell out to stop one phase of our offense, but almost always can't stop the other. FSU blitzed just about every down and their DBs played well tonight. Couldn't save them from the run game though.
  • Dawson had an ok game. There are times where it feels like he has no feel for the game. Run game is working, and we go to the pass and sputter out. Pass game is working and we go to the run and sputter out. I wish we stayed with what was working more often. Seems like he thinks if we have 2-3 good runs that a D will always bite on PA.
Defense
  • This was not a bad game for this defense. Overall FSU had 248 yards of offense, 3/13 on 3rd, and 4/7 on 4th. Held to 14 points.
  • FSU didn't do much of anything on offense. Their first score was down to a decent scramble by their QB on 3rd, and a freak run play that went for 40 (don't worry, Martinez repaid the favor in the 4th). Their second score was a garbage time QB aided by PI.
  • Our DL continues to remain a second behind where they need to be. We consistently generate pressure (we are #1 in pressures in the country), but we never seem to be able to get to the QB. There were a number of tackles that, had they been made, would've essentially ended FSU drives on 1st down.
  • LB play was alright. Kiko had two big pass breakups, but man does he take some bad angles. Bissainthe had a good game too, happy that he's alright after that huge hit.
  • Secondary played pretty well, albeit against one of the worst passing offenses in the country. Not really much we can tell in this regard; that's how bad FSU's passing game is.
  • We continue to take bad angles, which is something that must be addressed moving forward.
  • The D had some weird penalties called against them, same with the O. All in all, it evened out, but it definitely gave FSU life.
  • For whatever reason, teams just don't turnover the ball when they play us. We struggle to generate TOs, which makes this D look worse than it is.
Overall Conclusions and Other CFB Thoughts
  • We're 8-0 for the first time since 2017. Mario moves to 20-13 overall in his time here. Major improvement and another step in the right direction.
  • We manhandled and beat one of our biggest rivals by multiple TDs. It was not a replay of last year's Orange Bowl, but it was a great win.
  • Rivalry games are different. FSU hung around but we put it away decisively. As of the writing of this, a terrible Kansas team is in a dogfight with a good and ranked Kansas State team in their own House. Last year, a terrible Auburn team was within seconds of beating Bama. Last year our average team with a true Freshman QB in his first road start took 13-1 UnCoNqUeReD FSU to the limit. Point is: rivalry games change the dynamic. And guess what? We manhandled FSU and the game was never in doubt.
  • For the first time since 2004, Miami has beaten Florida and FSU in the same season. It's remarkable that it's been 20 years (albeit we only played both of them in 2008, 2013, and 2019 before this year). We also beat USF and FAMU; 4-0 in the sunshine state. We are state champs for the first time in 20 years.
  • Ohio State does not look elite. Nebraska gave them a big scare today. They are a team that does not have an identity. They're good in every phase of the game, but they're not elite. They are beatable and have a huge game in Happy Valley next week
  • Texas had a scare against Vandy, who seems to be scaring the **** out of everybody they play. Good win, certainly not an easy opponent, but this Texas team does not look unbeatable like they did earlier this year.
  • Penn State is, like Ohio State, good in every phase of the game. Like OSU, they are not elite in any single facet of the game. It's a James Franklin team, so I'll believe it when I see it. They have a huge gut check this week with OSU. Franklin has struggled to beat Top Big 10 teams in his tenure at PSU, and next week will be a barometer on where these programs stand.
  • UGA is idle this week but they look like the best team in CFB to me. The first half against Bama was an anomaly, and they've played great football ever since.
  • Oregon looks very good. #2 team in the country IMHO, and will be undefeated going into the postseason. We get an Oregon vs OSU/Penn State BIG Championship.
  • As for Miami, we have what it takes to compete with any team in the country. No one is unbeatable. But Cam needs to be on, and our D needs to overperform.
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This is right on! So frustrating. At least half a dozen times.

  • Our DL continues to remain a second behind where they need to be. We consistently generate pressure (we are #1 in pressures in the country), but we never seem to be able to get to the QB. There were a number of tackles that, had they been made, would've essentially ended FSU drives on 1st down.
 
We ran for like 230 yards. We won by 22. We controlled the whole game. We are 8-0 entering November…. Let’s bash the OL and find other things to complain about!!!

Pass protection was spotty, aka not real good. I saw FSU taking advantage of our formations by overloading certain sides. Example, Mauigoa gave up a sack where they blitzed his outside gap and the DT or end hit the inside gap. Cici had no help and whiffed on both. Bad play? Yup. Bad play design? Yup probably should’ve audibled out of it. Things like that happen. 4 sacks isn’t HORRIFIC (all caps and bolded of course). It’s not good, but horrific? Nah. That word best describes FSUs OL.
 
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A lot of you guys had visions of us winning 99-0 for some reason and anything less than that you would have been disappointed. I said we would get FSUs front 4s best effort possible because at this point they will all probably opt out. There season is over and so is there NIL bag I’m sure. Norvall will probably start getting this team ready for 2025 and start cleaning house.

Great win and let’s move on to Duke.
 
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The way some of you complain about Dawson you would think we don’t have the #1 offense in the country. “He’s not an elite play caller”,”lack of te usage” , yall are some spoiled a55 mfs. Don’t forget the late mark richt offenses, or even Josh gattis offenses we watched not too long ago…


And on the tight end usage, cam while on the field has control to where the ball is going. That’s on him as much as it’s on dawson
 
I'll tell you my thoughts. We scored on 7 of 8 drives. We dominated.

FSU fought hard, and I have to give them credit for that. They weren't going to let Ward carve them to pieces, and they didn't. Good job, FSU. That being said, it's like I said earlier in the year when people were crying about the run game. When a team focuses on stopping Ward, we will gash them with the run game. We did that.

This game reminded me of the 1990 game, except more dominant. People expected us to pass a lot, but we ran the ball right down their throats, all game long.
 
Were things perfect, no.

The game was boring to me this go around. I believe that it's due to the way this season has gone.

When we're operating at the top of our game, our offense is as fun to watch as any. The last three games, it's been a horse race to the finish.

This game, it was a slow plodding affair with no sprint to the finish or blasting out of the gates with no looking back. That's okay, we kept putting distance between us and them, while firmly in control for the vast majority of it.
 
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FL Cane said:
Let me say this first, this game was plain weird. The expectations coming in were that Miami would win comfortably, and that they did. We covered, and were in control the whole game. Nevertheless, the game was closer for awhile than most expected, albeit Miami was in complete control. Here's some thoughts on this game and going into next week.

Offense
  • I had been saying, before the UL game, that Damien Martinez was going to make himself know. Finally, he has become a centerpiece of our offense. Another big day with 148 on the ground, and multiple TDs. He will be crucial going forward.
  • God bless Mark Fletcher. He just went through a tremendous loss and played with pride and confidence. His dad was a great guy, and it's evident his son has inherited the same traits. He ran well tonight and converted some key 4th downs.
  • Zay Horton is WR1 material for next year. Great route runner and doesn't drop anything that comes his way. Quick in space too. That Offensive PI call was egregious and not at all on him. He will continue to emerge as the season goes on.
  • Quiet night from the rest of the WRs. Restrepo had a quiet game (his 3rd down conversion was wiped out by a terrible OI call) and JG3 had a key third down conversion catch. Sam Brown also had a catch or two, but again, quiet night.
  • Cam Ward had a whatever night (for his standards at least). 22/35 for 208 and a TD reception. But that wasn't the only story, which leads to the next bullet point...
  • The OL was horrific in pass protection. They gave up 4 sacks and a bunch of pressures. Just a completely inexcusable performance from them. Carpenter looked lost on multiple plays, and FSUs DEs worked us. I have no doubt that Mirabal will be merciless with this unit this week. Bar none, the worst unit tonight.
  • Borregales continues to be one of the best kickers in the country. 3/3 on the night.
  • This game reminded me a lot of FSUs matchup against Clemson. Clemson won that game 29-13. There was no doubt who was in control, but FSU did enough to bend and not break.
  • We scored on all but 1 of our drives tonight. We just stalled out inside the 35 too much.
  • Tonight was also a proof of concept that we can beat teams in multiple ways. I said this at the start of the season as a reason for optimism. Cam's not on? Here's Martinez and Fletcher. Run game isn't on? Here's Cam. The reality is Team's have to sell out to stop one phase of our offense, but almost always can't stop the other. FSU blitzed just about every down and their DBs played well tonight. Couldn't save them from the run game though.
  • Dawson had an ok game. There are times where it feels like he has no feel for the game. Run game is working, and we go to the pass and sputter out. Pass game is working and we go to the run and sputter out. I wish we stayed with what was working more often. Seems like he thinks if we have 2-3 good runs that a D will always bite on PA.
Defense
  • This was not a bad game for this defense. Overall FSU had 248 yards of offense, 3/13 on 3rd, and 4/7 on 4th. Held to 14 points.
  • FSU didn't do much of anything on offense. Their first score was down to a decent scramble by their QB on 3rd, and a freak run play that went for 40 (don't worry, Martinez repaid the favor in the 4th). Their second score was a garbage time QB aided by PI.
  • Our DL continues to remain a second behind where they need to be. We consistently generate pressure (we are #1 in pressures in the country), but we never seem to be able to get to the QB. There were a number of tackles that, had they been made, would've essentially ended FSU drives on 1st down.
  • LB play was alright. Kiko had two big pass breakups, but man does he take some bad angles. Bissainthe had a good game too, happy that he's alright after that huge hit.
  • Secondary played pretty well, albeit against one of the worst passing offenses in the country. Not really much we can tell in this regard; that's how bad FSU's passing game is.
  • We continue to take bad angles, which is something that must be addressed moving forward.
  • The D had some weird penalties called against them, same with the O. All in all, it evened out, but it definitely gave FSU life.
  • For whatever reason, teams just don't turnover the ball when they play us. We struggle to generate TOs, which makes this D look worse than it is.
Overall Conclusions and Other CFB Thoughts
  • We're 8-0 for the first time since 2017. Mario moves to 20-13 overall in his time here. Major improvement and another step in the right direction.
  • We manhandled and beat one of our biggest rivals by multiple TDs. It was not a replay of last year's Orange Bowl, but it was a great win.
  • Rivalry games are different. FSU hung around but we put it away decisively. As of the writing of this, a terrible Kansas team is in a dogfight with a good and ranked Kansas State team in their own House. Last year, a terrible Auburn team was within seconds of beating Bama. Last year our average team with a true Freshman QB in his first road start took 13-1 UnCoNqUeReD FSU to the limit. Point is: rivalry games change the dynamic. And guess what? We manhandled FSU and the game was never in doubt.
  • For the first time since 2004, Miami has beaten Florida and FSU in the same season. It's remarkable that it's been 20 years (albeit we only played both of them in 2008, 2013, and 2019 before this year). We also beat USF and FAMU; 4-0 in the sunshine state. We are state champs for the first time in 20 years.
  • Ohio State does not look elite. Nebraska gave them a big scare today. They are a team that does not have an identity. They're good in every phase of the game, but they're not elite. They are beatable and have a huge game in Happy Valley next week
  • Texas had a scare against Vandy, who seems to be scaring the **** out of everybody they play. Good win, certainly not an easy opponent, but this Texas team does not look unbeatable like they did earlier this year.
  • Penn State is, like Ohio State, good in every phase of the game. Like OSU, they are not elite in any single facet of the game. It's a James Franklin team, so I'll believe it when I see it. They have a huge gut check this week with OSU. Franklin has struggled to beat Top Big 10 teams in his tenure at PSU, and next week will be a barometer on where these programs stand.
  • UGA is idle this week but they look like the best team in CFB to me. The first half against Bama was an anomaly, and they've played great football ever since.
  • Oregon looks very good. #2 team in the country IMHO, and will be undefeated going into the postseason. We get an Oregon vs OSU/Penn State BIG Championship.
  • As for Miami, we have what it takes to compete with any team in the country. No one is unbeatable. But Cam needs to be on, and our D needs to overperform.
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Funny that you have to keep tempering any criticism by saying things like “but Miami was in control’. Because it’s the only way you can post on this site without causing micro aggressions. Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to dump sugar in any criticism?
 
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FL Cane said:
That's a good point. He definitely had time, we just didn't get the ball out quick. Remarkable that we don't do much in the short passing game beyond screens and the occasional slant.
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That's because Dawson playcalling is pooh pooh. We don't really run on the outside either most of our runs are zone inside it's works but you got to mix it up too. I would like to see our te work the mid of the field more also. I'm telling you we play like Kansas City when they had the cheetah. Too many down the field shots we need more balance in the passing game.
 
Arroyo was open a few times I wouldn’t blame all of it on dawson, cam has to play with better anticipation vs pressure. He missed a few easy completions, he wasn’t as sharp as he usually is imo

On top of that is the oline losing 1on1s, i mentioned last year and the off season i don’t call this oline elite(they are really good) because i have seen our tackles get beat plenty of times when there isn’t help. Our IOL was great in the run game but also had some leaks in communication in pass pro. Not panicking at all tho the oline has been good and we wont play a dline like that until post season play

Dawson called and does in general call too much long developing isolation routes. When a team is playing man and sending pressure we gotta have better answers than tunnel screens and a few switch releases. Wrs also have to win 1on1s better, i would have liked more jacolby targets, would have been time to put cj isolated on a lb like we did vs usf, cam missed him on a drag so maybe we did and I missed it but just should have attacked in different ways
 
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