Miami fell to Kansas State, 28-24 on Saturday afternoon at Sun Life. The Canes began in a slumber, but were rejuvenated in the second half. Down 14-3 after two, UM took it’s first lead early in the fourth quarter, going up 24-21. Unfortunately the issues that plagued Miami early still remained; an inability to stop the run.
After Kansas State returned the favor with an eight-play, 80-yard drive to reclaim the lead, Miami looked as if it’d pull off a masterful comeback. A 33-yard strike from Jacory Harris to tight end Chase Ford had the Canes at the Kansas State fourteen-yard line and a pass interference call on an ensuing third down gave Miami 1st-and-Goal from the two-yard line. Four plays later, Harris was stopped on the one-yard line, the Wildcats took over, ran out the clocks and this one was in the books.
In the wake of another loss, dropping the Canes to 1-2 on the season, all the focus quickly shifted to the final possession. Two yards and coming up short four times had many questioning the playcalling of offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch and again calling for Harris’ head as he found another way to not get the job done. One yard was the focus, but it wasn’t the story.
Miami lost – again – because it didn’t play sixty minutes of football. On many levels that statement is a cliche, but it’s proving to be one that the Canes have lived to imperfection. It was the case at Maryland, where an erratic first half put Miami in a hole it couldn’t fully dig itself out of and that proved true again this weekend with Kansas State.
The Canes opened strong with a 41-yard kickoff return courtesy of Travis Benjamin. On the first play from scrimmage, Benjamin rushed for nine yards to the Kansas State 46- yard line. More Benjamin, mixed in with a few Lamar Miller runs and a ten-yard reception by Philip Dorsett had the Canes on a roll. On a 2nd-and-8, Harris wisely used his legs and set up a 3rd-and-1 from the Wildcats 17-yard line.
False start, Miami as offensive lineman Jon Feliciano moved early. Momentum killed and an incompletion later the Canes are settling on a 39-yard Jake Wieclaw field goal. Later in the first quarter it was a Joel Figueroa who moved on 4th-and-4, where Harris had two open receivers and a sure first down. Instead, the Canes punted and again left more potential points on the field.
Kansas State answered back on their first possession, driving sixty-three yards on eleven plays, punctuated with quarterback Collin Klein pushing in for a two-yard touchdown run.
Klein finished a respectable 12-of-18 through the air for 133 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. On the ground he amassed 93 yards and a score, as well. Even more frustrating, the timing. Whether if was Klein or running back John Hubert getting in done with their legs, it was how and when they made their plays.
Twice on Kansas State’s opening drive Miami allowed third down conversions – an 18-yard pass to Brodrick Smith on a 3rd-and-5 and Klein’s two-yard score on 3rd-and-Goal. Early in the second quarter, Klein found receiver Tyler Lockett between two receivers in the end zone. His pass, on 3rd-and-10, sailed inches above the outstretched hand of linebacker Ramon Buchanan, giving the Wildcats a 14-3.
Buchanan was also a second late when Klein did his best Tim Tebow, firing a jump pass to tight end Travis Tannahill – another failed third down stop by Miami.
A game of inches all day long, with few breaks going Miami’s way – most notably three Kansas State fumbles that all found their way back to offensive Wildcats.
Any shot Miami had at gaining momentum, Kansas State always resnatched it. The Canes got a hand on an early third quarter field goal attempt and responded with a four-yard touchdown strike to Tommy Streeter. UM went seventy-one yards on six plays, with a huge 3rd-and-3 pick up where Harris found Dorsett for 31-yards, followed by the Streeter score.
Kansas State answered with an eight-play, 83-yard drive and the Tannahill haul-in, the key play being a 15-yard Klein run on – you guessed it – another big 3rd-and-10. It was followed by back-to-back runs by Hubert, who gained sixty-two of his eventual 166 yards on this game-defining drive.
Down 21-10, Miami went big play again when Miller broke off a 59-yard touchdown and the Hurricanes defense finally seized momentum and stepped up. Jordan Futch sacked Klein on first down and on 3rd-and-12, Marcus Forston got to Klein, who fumbled, though Kansas State recovered.
Three plays later, Harris found Benjamin for a 34-yard strike and Miami had it’s first and only lead, but the Canes defense couldn’t hold court again. On the ensuing 3rd-and-1, Hubert tore off a 47-yard run and capped it off with a two-yard, walk-in score (moments after yet another Wildcats fumble they recovered).
The teams traded punts before Miami’s final drive, which ended with the four-play series that netted one lone yard and sent the Canes to the locker room with its fifth loss in six games – and while three of those losses closed out last season and earned a head coach his pink slip, it also proved that even with new staff in place, old ways still rear their ugly head at the most inopportune time.
You can’t watch Coach Golden and not believe this man has “it” and won’t turn things around. The preparation last weekend against Ohio State and the resiliency shown against Kansas State – these kids aren’t quitters. Miami fought back all afternoon and was one-yard from being praised instead of trashed.
That said, this team still has some old school Randy Shannon running through its blood and because of that, one step forward will often be coupled with a step back. A great drive will be followed by a flat one. A huge play will happen as often as a head scratcher. A player will look like a superstar one half and lost the next.
Pulling this whole thing together and gaining consistency … it’s going to take time, people. Frustrating as that is to accept, it’s truth.
As for Coach Fisch, he shouldn’t be a scapegoat for inefficiency. Harris and tight end Clive Walford should’ve connected on the 1st-and-Goal play for the game-winning touchdown. When that faltered, the Miami offensive line should’ve pushed hard enough for bigger, short-yardage back Mike James to get into the end zone, like he did on the final score last week against the Buckeyes.
On 4th-and-Goal, the first read was a shove pass to Miller, but the plays was blown up unintentionally when a Kansas State defensive lineman was late off the ball and blocked the lane. Walford was the second option, in the flat, but was covered. That left Harris to run and he came up short.
Four acceptable play calls. Four plays where inefficiency or good defense won out.
This loss didn’t come down to one play or one drive. It was a collective effort to fail as Miami did on Saturday. A slow start. An inability to stop the run or contain a lesser known quarterback, who the Canes made the poster boy for grit, hunger and determination.
A dozen plays in this game caused Miami to lose and it’s that collective body of work which will continue hurting the Canes if this squad doesn’t tighten up. Ten penalties game one, five game two and only four this weekend – but they couldn’t have come at more inopportune, drive-killing times.
Aside from the two first quarter false starts, a mid-fourth quarter illegal procedure penalty after a Kansas State kickoff pinned Miami at it’s own 13-yard line to start a drive that never got moving. It was the Canes’ worst field position of the day and took place after the Wildcats went ahead, 28-24.
Big plays on offense to chip away at a deficit or to eventually take the lead were rubbed out by an inability to tackle or get a stop when necessary. UM showed flashes of greatness, but simply didn’t do so in a consistent enough manner to get the job done.
Miami and defensive coordinator Mark D’Onofrio must get better at stopping the run, which looks as if it will be a problem due to depth and personnel. The Hurricanes’ defensive line hasn’t been effective and isn’t getting the pressure it needs to, linebackers aren’t playing up to their potential and the secondary is a definitely weak, depleted link.
Maryland coaches exploited this defense game one while Kansas State coaches seemed to study that film en route to finding the same holes and capitalizing.
Miami are so focused on sending Harris to the bench, they’ll still work to pin the blame for this loss on him. Yes, No. 12 got off to a bit of a slow start, had an early interception and missed a few throws, but as far as the comeback went, it was Jacory-fueled.
4-for-4 on the opening drive of the third quarter, ending with the touchdown to Streeter. Harris completed his next three passes, as well – a twenty-yarder to Benjamin before the long Miller score and on the next drive, fifteen yards to Streeter before hitting Benjamin for the 34-yard touchdown.
Harris was 11-of-13 in the second half with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Miami did a lot of things wrong against Kansas State, but sticking with Harris and rallying behind him wasn’t one of them.
A loss is always a team loss, but the onus of this one falls on the Miami defense for making an average Kansas State offense look all world. That’s not a knock on Klein or Hubert, but a safe bet neither of them has a performance akin to this one the rest of the year.
The Wildcats put on 398 total yards – 133 through the air and an inconceivable 265 on the ground – many of those coming on third down or as a response to Miami’s offense putting up points.
The Hurricanes lost because of yards given away; not because of one yard it failed to pick up. – C.B.
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Chris - as always, good analysis. But the reasons are not inexplicable. They are quite simple. Miami does not have any talent. Missed tackles, poor angles and mental mistakes are part of an all familiar theme of the last several years. Miami has fallen into a culture of losing. It is a shame and I take no pleasure in saying it but these are systemic problems not easily solved. It is a sad, sad day.
Jake - Disagree that there's "no" talent, but certainly on the defensive side of the ball there are some holes. Defensive line isn't as effected as expected / hoped for, linebacker hasn't risen up to the challenge (outside of Spence) and the secondary is pretty depleted an an area where a lack of talent definitely fits.
Bad angles, missed tackles, et al are all a big part of what's wrong and you hope that in time that is coached up and changed. The inability to stop the run yesterday is going to kill this team down the stretch if that isn't corrected.
You're right, I should not say "no" talent. But the talent drop off is quite noticable. I think it is generous to say that there are "holes" in the defense which seems to be giving up 200+ rushing yards per game.
What I don't get is that the team has had all of spring and fall practice to correct basic football fundamentals like tackling. That is what leads me to conclude that maybe the talent just isn't there.
It's one thing to play well and lose. It's another to put on the performances that Miami has for the last several years. That is why I think it is a systemic, cultural issue. A culture of losing has developed at Miami. That affects both the mental and physical parts of the game.
the run D has been a problem all game so far. it has to be fixed. period
Don't think I've ever seen us whiff on so many tackles in my life...I just hope we fix it before the ACC games come...
[]_[]
Apparently you missed the FSU game last year.
Jake, please answer question I posted on last blog. Thanks
Jack - I apologize for not seeing your post earlier. I can't see posts until the administrator approves them so I'm just now seeing them.
I appreciate the point of your question, which is to call me out on the fact that no sanctions have yet been imposed and therefore I should not suggest they will be.
Unfortunately I do not share your optimism. What we read in the media is but a scratch on the surface of what is probably going on in the investigation.
I fully anticipate severe sanctions based on what little has been published and with the expectation that the investigation (still ongoing) will reveal more. It is possible I am wrong. That would be nice if I were.
However, the NCAA is going to be under immense pressure to make an example of Miami, given the nature of the charges. A number of other schools are also under investigation for other violations (Oregon, South Carolina, Fresno State I think are the most recent, but I'm unsure.) So the idea that Miami will walk away with no penalties, or a mere "slap on the wrist," while possible, I find unlikely.
Perhaps I'm wrong, and time will tell. But all signs appear to be pointing to pending sanctions.
Thanks for your response. Again, I believe under Randy Shannon's watch most of the infractions were minor. If the NCAA does not go beyond the 4 year statue of limitations, Miami should be fine. "I hope!!!"
Jack - I too hope so! But there's blood in the water and most of the sharks out there would LOVE to take down MIAMI.
What depressing about the whole thing is that with Shapiro supposedly providing all these "incentives" to recruits and players, Miami still could not manage a conference championship, BCS game - heck even a 10 win season!!! If I were Shapiro, I'd want my money back ...
Jake
lol
Jake,
Ok, I got! IF and only IF the Canes win 7 games and the investigation looks bad. Why not do a self imposed penalty of a bowl ban this year, vacated wins 08,09 and give 6 schollies over 3 years? Unlike USC, I believe the university is all over this investigation! However, I am an internal optimist!!
What say you?
JACK - in response to your suggestion below, I think the self-imposition of meaningful penalties (not like UNC is trying to pull) would be warranted IF it appears as though the NCAA is going to come down hard due to its investigation. Miami actually did the same thing during the Pell Grant scandal. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but in Butch Davis' first year, UM imposed a post-season ban and scholarship reduction on itself in order to mitigate the coming NCAA penalties. Vacating wins seems like a new trend, but the problem with it is that they are meaningless as a punishment. The games have already been played, and unless Golden wants to stay at UM long enough to challenge Paterno's and Bowden's victory record, they really don't count for much.
Of course, this assumes that UM has more knowledge of how the investigation is going and what may be coming down. Self-imposition is always preferable, so long as it is meaningful.
But Miami may not have many wins to vacate ... sadly ... if the defense doesn't step up its game!
Jake
They wouldnt vacate wins from this year as all players are eligible having already served suspensions, but I think vacated previous years wins and a bowl ban this year is a good idea.
Where oh where has our DEFENSE gone??? I find it hard to believe that our front four is that weak that we can't get consistent push. The lack of depth is obvious but where is the heart that the Russell Maryland's, and Warren Sapp's and Rusty Mederias's had and you couldnt pull them off the field. Someone has got to step up on that line and emerge as a leader.
I am not looking forward to playing GT this year. It could prove to be ugly. Arm tackles and missed tackles were plenty. Spence..our leader ...ran right by the QB and RB on a third down play and didnt make a the tackle. At times it felt like I was watching my sons 9 YO team play.
What I was glad to see was Jacory no collapse. he had a great second half. If only he learned how to run sooner....what things could have been. Fisch shouldnt take the blame. I agree had that 1st down throw been a little higher to Walfford, it would be all gravy. matter of fact I thought the 4th down play was perfect because it gave us options. Just none of them worked.
I still want to see the discipline from this team I was promised. If you can break away from the pain of the overall loss, there was some growth. But it is overshadowed by the few bonehead plays we are used too.
Well get back after it next week!!
The defense was smacked around all day. We couldn't stop the run. Miami needs to tighten up on defense.
We need much bigger and faster D line players!!
until the NW kids graduate, this team won't take on a new identity...I hate to say it, but that seems to be the consistent problem
Michael I hate to say it but I'm agreeing with you more and more on this with each one of these debacles....and there have been way too damn many. It seems that the same issues continually creep up. I honestly don't know if its a mental thing with this team, a fundamentals thing (they were coached by what I consider the worst staff since before Snelly took over) or a combination of both. I truly believe that we aren't going to see great progress until we see some of the Shannon regime upper classman graduate and some of Golden's kids start to progress/mature. IMO poor coaching has taken a toll and it could be a couple of years before we see a real turn around. Hope I'm wrong...
the nw kids need graduate in order for us to win. hmmm ok so apparently it wasn't harris and streeter making plays for us in the game......my eyes must have been seeing things when streeter scored? brandon washington is not our best lineman? sean spence is not the heart and sole of our defense? i'm seeing things and it must be other people filling the roles i just stated. The NW kids played their hearts out. Yes we lost and yes they were the most hyped part of that 08 class. But remember this before you write them off acc play starts in two weeks. two weeks and bethune to iron out alot of issues and get more confidence. VT is a good solid team but has weakness like us.... unc same deal and so does gt. All three of those can be beat. Relax we have the most important part of our schedule coming up. don't write off these kids or this team yet.
The run D has been a problem since at least last season. Remember the rush yards against FSU. Golden tried to beef up the D by recruiting mostly defenders but it will take a couple more recruiting cycles to correct. Question is what in Gods name was Shannon doing with recruiting to allow so many holes with such little depth.
On a side note we are not getting heavily sanctioned. Slap on the wrist. If you saw goldens interview with Jim Rome he basically says the allegations are not as bad as they seemed in the yahoo article. I understand he has to do his PR thing but I'm sure he has info as to where the investigation is headed and he didnt seem too concerned about it. This was in response to a post in the last blog post.
I can't blame J12 for this one at all...he actually seemed to wake up in the second half and I saw glimpses of the J12 we all placed our hopes on in his first year, before he became his own worst enemy. This one falls on the D. They did their best to make KState's QB look like Vick...who he certainly was not. I don't know which is worse the D-Line for getting zero pressure, or the LB's for not covering up the holes. And I seriously question as a coaching staff, how you can not come back from the half and place a spy on the QB after that. One guy whose assignment is just the QB...we had zero containment on him, even after he already gashed us up for nearly a hundred yards in the first half.
If not fixed, this D is going to lose us at least 3 more games...VTech, GTech, and the 'Noles are salivating on game tape after watching 2 mediocre teams play school with our run D. And, except for Spence and Chickillo I don't see anyone stepping up after 3 games and making themselves known. I just hope that changes..and soon.
While Miami's D has always been known for it's speed, it seemed at times, as if they were moving in slow motion. You know it's really messed up when you have no doubt that the Wildcats are going to convert on 3rd down, but have total confidence that the Canes will not be able to do it.
Their is SOME talent on the Canes, but after seeing the beatdown that Temple put on Maryland, I think we really won't be that good until AG gets the type of players that he wants. Also, I do have some doubts about these coordinators, especially on D. After the other team goes up 14 points, then changes are made and by then it's probably too late.
Of course, everything will depend on how long AG sticks around.