The season kicked off for the Miami Hurricanes with a matchup against top-ranked Alabama and there were some positives to see, as well as some not-so-positive things to see. Let’s walk through it together at
Upon Further Review.
On 3rd & 7, Miami sends five rushers with Frierson backing out after initially faking and leaves Stevenson 1-on-1 with Metchie on the outside. This was a big play in the game in my opinion because Miami could’ve forced a 3-and-out and built a belief they could hang for a bit. Instead, it is an absolutely perfect back-should pass to Metchie just as he’s coming out of his break and Stevenson can’t quite knock it out of his hands. The ball is being released as Metchie is still going downfield and is tough to defend.
View attachment 153795
Miami DE and LB’s all bit hard on the fake to the boundary and there is little flow to the field-side motion with lead blockers.
View attachment 153796
You’ve got single-high with Bubba providing deep support but having to watch the post from boundary slot. Gurvan Hall is in zone with the field slot Metchie (which is suspect to begin with). CB’s are both playing sail technique and trying to get eyes on the QB because he can run. Gurvan is inexplicably coming forward as Metchie is running a post-corner right behind him. Hall has to know that his single-high S is going to be occupied with that post from the other side and has to stay deep. He is locked on watching the QB, which sucks him up and allows the WR to run right by him. TD. Route concepts made this happen, but when QB steps up Gurvan loses his head.
View attachment 153797
First Miami play and I actually like it. We went empty with Harris split out wide, then motioned him into backfield. The route concept is called levels with a waggle because it threatens the defense at all three levels. Fake the give to Harris towards the diamond trips alignment (which is often times an excellent blocking alignment to run into), drag Harley across behind LOS, bring Mallory across the field as King waggles towards top of screen. Rambo on a comeback at the top of the screen actually gets the pass for about seven. Alabama played it so well in the secondary with communication (they use a number system to determine who to cover based on which receiver goes where). Most teams we play this year will not handle this route combination as cleanly as Bama did.
View attachment 153798
As we go along, I hope Miami starts using quick little passes to the outside when they have leverage as pseudo run plays. This is a 1st down if King just stands up and fires it to Harley with a blocker out there.
View attachment 153799
Run a pick play to Mallory instead and it is well-done on the outside by Rambo. Mallory lines up in-line and then runs a little out-route off play-action again. King hits him for an easy 1st down. Scaife gets beaten on the play.
View attachment 153800
When Lashlee talks about “execution” here is what he’s talking about. Alabama has a 6-man box here. They’re playing tite though, so they’re really stealing a gap with defenders inside playing 1.5 gaps. This means that Inside Zone (IZ) run is not going to work unless you can move out one of those interior defenders for Alabama. Miami has 4-on-3 on interior of Alabama line and they are getting moved backwards. The Alabama LB’s are standing there clean as can be waiting on the RB. Mallory will not want this on his tape as #31 takes his soul and basically puts him on his back. Alabama pinches that edge and takes away the cutback better than any team in college football. #31 is not trying to get around Mallory, he wants to go through him and pinch that edge and basically try and tackle the RB with Mallory. In my view, Miami had to have a gameplan where those short passes were the running game and not try and pound the ball inside like Lashlee is often want to do.
View attachment 153801
King talked about audibling to the media last week, but he doesn’t see the CB blitz here and tries to run a read-option right into it. Wish he had identified it and threw the bubble to slot. Zion false start really killed the drive.
View attachment 153802
About four years ago, Larry Fedora and UNC really hurt Miami with this diamond formation backfield. Miami had hoped to cause confusion with this formation, but it did not. Running this on 3rd & 7 is questionable at best and really drew the ire of Canes fans. Throwing the ball early was working and then Miami got the false start and tried to run twice in-a-row. Harley and Mallory are the points of the diamond and expected to draw LB’s attention.
View attachment 153803
Harley was uncovered coming out of the backfield. Expect to see this formation and play again later in the season, only this time it’ll be play-action. Instead, Miami ran right into the strength of the defense, who had an unblocked star defender (or nickel safety). I highlight Rivers because he will learn from this. He got into the DT, but really just needed to use his right arm to help Gaynor and then release to the C. This play might’ve worked if Rivers gets to that LB as Harris cut it back and Rivers then tries to get to LB who is responsible for King and just gets in Harris’s way.
View attachment 153804
This play might’ve worked if Rivers gets to that LB as Harris cut it back and Rivers then tries to get to LB who is responsible for King and just gets in Harris’s way. Rivers climbs up to second level and look at that cutback lane for Harris. Zion is pushed into backfield and Harris has to avoid his leg as he was trying to cut this back. I believe, on this second look, that this was a designed cutback all the way and that they had it if 60 & 64 do what they’re suppose to do.
View attachment 153805
Flagg showed some nice rush on this play. Used a quick step to get into TE’s body and take away his length, then swiped his hands away which got him off balance. Gets held here, but they don’t call holding for Miami at any point. Kendall Randolph is 6-4, 298, so he’s really an OL, not a TE. Young escapes and throws for a 1st down to the crosser in the MOF who has time to get all the way to the sideline. Getting the correct call on this one would’ve changed the drive.
View attachment 153806
Jordan Miller and Stevenson meet in the backfield against McCellan and both bounce off of him and he picks up 3 instead of -2. Those add up. (Not pictured)
I hate to sound like a broken record, but I really do not like how often we stand up our best pass rusher and then drop them out into nowhere and take them out of the play (DeAndre Johnson here). We are playing 10-on-11 on a 3rd down here. Look at our DL and how they all got just absolutely buried. QB just pitches it out to the RB here and picks up the 1st down.
View attachment 153807
Amari Carter has a free shot on the RB here in the backfield. Missed tackle. Flagg dives at his feet and misses a tackle. Keontra is flowing down the line and misses an arm tackle. Big run. Coaches sometimes do put you in position and you just have to make a tackle. Awful.
View attachment 153808
Amari Carter missed tackle in the backfield. He was supposed to be better as a striker. Teammates did clean it up, but you have to make that tackle. 53 here did a smart thing and took out two blockers as one was trying to pull around, which made Carter completely free to make a tackle. Remember all those pulls that UNC ran all over us, this is a way to combat those.
View attachment 153809
Bubba misses the sack. McCloud out covering grass. Dropping your pass rushers into these zones just doesn’t work for me.
View attachment 153810
McCloud rushes inside on a 3-man rush and forces QB to move off his spot, Harvey comes off his block thanks to the QB being flushed. Bubba drops pick in the end zone. Losing Bolden was a big loss, but he also had a couple of chances to finish plays and didn’t.
View attachment 153811
Miami lines up in tight with three in backfield and run orbit motion. Try and go off-tackle with Harley trying to block as the TE and it didn’t work. At all. Throw that one out. (Not pictured)
Donaldson whipped before the RB even has the ball. King needs to pull this one and throw the bubble. Not sure if he really has the option to pass here, but the run was never going to work from a numbers standpoint.
View attachment 153812
On 3rd down, Scaife gets toasted immediately. Keyshawn Smith gets the reception, but is short because the pass had to be thrown before he could get depth. (Not pictured)
Last year I often highlighted poor LB play on defense and here is another one. Flagg is in the wrong gap here and actually runs into Keontra Smith. Leaving his gap open for the RB.
View attachment 153813
Flagg is lost in the middle again and is covering grass. QB has tons of room to scramble to his left because Flagg is out of position. (Not pictured)
Next play and DeAndre Johnson has a free shot on the QB and ducks inside for no reason at all. Allows QB to get outside of him. This should’ve been a sack, but I am happy to see Johnson is winning his battles at a decent clip.
View attachment 153814
McCloud wins inside again (he is really quick on that inside move) and flushes the QB who hits a perfect pass to his WR for a 1st down. Ivey gave up the completion but had good coverage. Bryce Young is holy wow, good as he throws this ball on-the-run, with pressure in his face from Keontra before the WR even comes out of his break and catches the hitch. Goodness that is excellent.
View attachment 153815
Jennings overruns a gap and misses the tackle. Steed gets held, but they’ll never call it. 1st quarter is over and I don’t know what else to say but Alabama is incredible. Size, speed, strength everywhere. A QB who is going to win a Heisman in his QB. Didn’t realize how good their QB is. Miami could’ve played this quarter a hundred times and might lead only a handful of times. (Not pictured)
Frierson jumps the run on an RPO and the slant is uncovered behind him. Big gain. (Not pictured)
It’ll never get called. He has two handfuls of jersey and is pulling it away from Stevenson’s shoulder pads. Official two yards away. This looks like a hockey fight when they pull the jersey over the guys head. At this point, I’m ready to say Miami just needs to teach this as a technique because they are not pulling jerseys on every play, but if Alabama is going to get away with it, you need to even up the odds some.
View attachment 153816
Keontra looked absolutely awful trying to cover a TE on an arrow route. No idea why Keontra is jumping outside on that play when he has no help on the inside of the field and knows he can’t let him cross his face. That was not good.
View attachment 153817
Scaife’s gets his lunch money taken on a bull rush and King scrambles to pick up a 1st down. (Not pictured)
Next play and Scaife lunges at his punch instead of remaining patient. #4 knocks his hands away and forces a fumble. Scaife played quite poorly in this one. This was a TD if they give King time, as the out-and-up was there for Harley as the CB jumped the out. There is a receiver on the sideline holding that boundary CB over there. That was a big missed opportunity.
View attachment 153818
View attachment 153819
Now that we’ve gotten through the first quarter and given a good foundation of what we were seeing, I’m going to speed it up now, or I’ll never get through this.
Mallory can’t block a CB and another opportunity goes away. You have to hold this block and give your guy a chance.
View attachment 153820
I am absolutely impressed with how hard the Alabama DB’s fill the run on the edges and take on blocks. They are far more physical than our WR’s are and it just took away those easier edge pitches that are designed to get 5-6 yards a play. Alabama just overwhelmed us on those plays and that is discouraging. (Not pictured)
Let me first say this: the officials had nothing to do with the overall outcome of the game; Alabama wins no matter what. That said, they truly could not have been worse thus far. How do you not call this? It’s plain as day. It rips his eyes away from the field and takes away any chance of throwing the ball, so it absolutely impacts the play. Announcer says, “gets enough of King to take his eyes off downfield.” Yeah, with his facemask.
View attachment 153821
Keontra missed tackle. Drink. He gets a 1st down instead of a loss of two. As the season goes along, this defense can be much better if this is a tackle instead of a 1st.
View attachment 153822
Alabama gets Metchie matched up on Bradley Jennings and it went exactly as expected. (Not pictured)
Yes, Steed has to still make this tackle, but you try running in full-speed and then having a guy behind you grab you from behind your jersey and on the shoulder pad and see if it doesn’t throw you off-balance. Should’ve been a loss, but because Alabama is allowed to do this every play, it’s another nice gain. This stuff has to be called. Has to be.
View attachment 153823
Amari Carter covers absolutely no one. No idea what he’s doing. There was one receiver in his area in the MOF on a 3rd down and he was running away from him for some reason. Too. Easy. This goes for a TD and I just have no clue what Carter is doing. He’s looking to his left for whatever reason.
View attachment 153824
This looks like a bullfighter letting a bull run by in pass protection. The next time you ask yourself why Chaney doesn’t start; here’s why.
View attachment 153825
Pull Rivers and Justice is blocking air. Nothing hurts my soul like watching OL doing nothing. This is a mistake by #70 here.
View attachment 153826
Next play they run a screen and Justice did a nice job on the move. He’s athletic. (Not pictured)
Horrible call on kick catch interference on the punt when Miami had them at the 1-yard line. Not good, refs, not good. (Not pictured)
Alabama hands it off and Flagg runs straight to an OL while vacating the A-gap to the other side. Not sure at all what he’s seeing here, but this is bad. RB runs right through the hole with momentum. Why didn’t Flagg run through that same hole and adjust if the RB cut back? Someone on Twitter said Flagg has a gravitational pull to the OL and here is what they mean. We’d call him “Hoover” (vacuumed to the OL.) Kinchens, who the yellow line is going straight to, makes a wonderful form tackle and forces a fumble. Gurvan Hall lets it get taken away from him, of course, so Alabama actually benefits from the play with a 1st down. Sigh. Get Kinchens on the field more and Hall off the field more.
View attachment 153827
Miami was getting beat up by Bryce Young’s mobility so they switch to more zone defense (to keep eyes on QB). Alabama shreds zone for the most part, but luckily the Alabama WR drops the ball or it would’ve been another big play. (Not pictured)
Harris needs to hit this hole faster. If he cuts it up immediately here he can split the WR and Justice in that alley for a bigger gain. He stutters and tries to go outside and gets only a couple of yards here. Hands to the face on our WR here not called. Yes, To’To is filling in backside pursuit, but if Harris hits it hard he can split it.
View attachment 153828
Harley runs an out-and-up and roasts the CB. King is not on the same page, as he tries to throw a back-shoulder pass or an out, I’m not sure. Harley is visibly upset as he toasted Daniel Wright on this one that could’ve been a TD. Miami does have an OL way downfield here that wasn’t called.
View attachment 153829
This is an incredible throw by King. Rocketed in there, over a defender, in-stride. Heck of a catch as well.
View attachment 153830
If Alabama doesn’t trip the WR (and a fairly fortunate PI call), this is a TD. Miami toasted CB’s on multiple occasions and we could never make them pay for it. I believe other teams will capitalize on these double-moves and opportunities more often than Miami did in this one. Hopefully, Miami will hit them in the future.
View attachment 153831
Mallory, not sure what are you waiting for. Go block this guy and Harris is easily within the 5. Instead, it’s like Mallory is playing zone defense on him. Harris pressed the hole really well, but Mallory didn’t engage.
View attachment 153832
On 4th down, King sneak from shotgun. Gives him more vision and a running start, but also allows Alabama to close the distance. I just would’ve liked to see him try to go over the top with the ball from under center. (Not pictured)
Carter goes for the big play and completely vacates his gap here. Leaves no force player on the edge and it’s an easy 5-yards. (Not pictured)
This is ridiculous. McCloud has his shoulder pads ripped off. This would go in official teaching tape on what holding looks like. I’ll say this; McCloud has played really well in this game. Manny was heated over the no-call on the holding. Harvey with a really dumb roughing the passer penalty that would’ve offset the hold anyway.
View attachment 153833
I mean, these officials really couldn’t have been worse if they had just left early. Then To’To hits him in the head/neck area and no call. Miami would be back on the cover of Sports Illustrated if they did this hit. Ball is intercepted on the mugging. The announcers are essentially screaming Roll Tide the entire game, but I digress.
View attachment 153834
Trey Sanders walks into the end zone on an off-tackle play where the force player just quit and then Stevenson showed little effort. Walks into the end-zone and breaks the U off. (Not pictured)
Game is over at this point.
By the Numbers:
As I look over the numbers for this game, I’m surprised at the fact Miami wasn’t terrible in many areas.
- 40% success rate on rushing plays (two of the successful rushes were QB scrambles)
- 45% success rate on passing plays (with multiple missed chances deep)
Alabama was very good offensively.
- 47% success rate on rushing plays (with some explosive plays)
- 54% success rate on passing plays (with a lot of explosive plays)
Miami didn’t do enough to threaten Alabama vertically in this game, with only one pass traveling over 20 yards in the air (29-yard TD to Restrepo). Many chances to throw the ball deep were wrecked by the Alabama pass rush, mostly against Scaife. On another occasion, Miami had a deep ball open and King misread it.
Miami had a PI on another deep pass that could’ve been a TD to Rambo
Miami needs to run more play-action passes in the future. Only 11 of the 37 dropbacks involved play-action.
- The screen game will be more successful in the future, as Alabama was far too physical on the edges for the Miami WR’s, but King was 9-10 on screens in this one and was generally accurate
- Corey Flagg was a solid pass rusher in this game and several of the blitzes Miami used were executed well and got the QB off his spot. He had four total pressures and a hit on the QB.
- On 22 run snaps, Flagg had two run stops, which is still a far too low 9.1%, but an improvement over last season and there is reason to believe he can improve that against non-Alabama teams. Flagg is your MLB.
- Zach McCloud was, dare I say, good in this game. He was often times facing a 1st round OT in Evan Neal and he repeatedly gave him trouble with his inside move. McCloud also set a hard edge against a puller in the run game. McCloud had two run stop on his 22 run snaps, four pressures, and zero missed tackles. Well done.
- Keontra Smith was a mixed bag in this one. Three run stops on 23 run snaps, but three missed tackles as well. This is the question you have with him at LB, is if he will be big enough to get ball carriers on the ground.
- Jahfari Harvey had six pressures in this game and was generally disruptive. His roughing the passer penalty hurts his PFF grade, but he was solid.
- Waynmon Steed had three missed tackles on 10 run snaps and zero run stops. That needs to improve.
- Chantz Williams had three run stops on 18 run snaps and added a sack and a forced fumble. Get him on the field.
- James Williams and Kinchens need to eat into Hall’s snaps. Both looked better than Hall out there. Kinchens got a pressure on one of his two pass rush snaps, forced a fumble, and was around the ball. Gurvan Hall was not good at all in this one.
- Bradley Jennings tried.
- Xavier Restrepo, Keyshawn Smith, James Williams, Kamren Kinchens all look like hits in recruiting. Hopefully they start to eat into veteran players ahead of them snap counts.
Overall
Bryce Young was simply brilliant in this game. I haven’t watched a QB this year I’d rather have than Young. He’s mobile, accurate, has an excellent arm, understands the game. Whew. I’d hoped losing their QB would help the rest of CFB, but I think they might’ve actually upgraded.
Miami brought a pop-gun to a bomb fight. Alabama was so much bigger and more physical, it was striking. Where that really stood out to be was in the secondary. They were so physical on the edges and really brought bad intentions any time a screen was used. I was so impressed with how well-coached they were. There were no communication breakdowns I witnessed. Almost every opportunity was because of the defender falling for a double-move. Miami hit on zero of them, but did draw a phantom PI on one play.
In watching the game again, I strangely feel…better? Alabama was so much better than Miami at every single position. There is not one position that Miami’s guy starts over Alabama’s. Maybe Zion would start there, but not at LT. Even Zion was a lucky take away from App State. The talent difference was immediately noticeable and even their QB was incredible. Yet, with all of that, Miami had their chances for plays to change the game. Alabama made those plays and Miami didn’t and Alabama got every conceivable break from the officials in this one.
As we move forward, I expect the OL to improve and settle in. I expect some of those schemed deep shots to come to fruition, and I expect that we will see more points on the scoreboard. I’m not ready to come off my 10-win prediction, but I will say that the reality did set in during this game that Miami is destined for that top-20 area, rather than anything in the top-10 this season.
Looking forward to seeing how they respond this week because I do believe it is a talented team and has some young players who will be ready to take jobs from upperclassmen soon.
