Don’t look now, but the Miami Hurricanes are gaining some momentum and are growing up week-after-week, game-by-game. After three early losses where “The U” couldn’t put it all together, this team is finally trending upwards down the stretch, opposed to unraveling as it has in years past.
After back-to-back wins over Cincinnati and Virginia Tech, Miami kept it rolling this weekend with a rout of Coastal Division rival North Carolina—a program that’s had its way with the Hurricanes since becoming ACC foes a decade back.
In victorious hindsight, this game had all the makings of a disaster with pressure mounting and in recent years, arguably would’ve been. Instead, everything that could go right, did—a welcomed change.
Last November Miami lost running back Duke Johnson to a broken ankle and limped to the finish line without him. Fast forward a year and the junior tailback is proving to be Heisman-worthy and one of the best backs in the game, if not the best.
Johnson has run for 150-plus yards in four of his past five outings and over the past three weeks has been the Canes’ ultimate MVP—rushing for 162 yards against Cincinnati, 249 at Virginia Tech and put together a hard-fought 177-yard effort against North Carolina—highlighted by a 90-yard touchdown run early on when it was still anybody’s game.
The speedy tailback is also emerging as Miami’s biggest receiving threat, again hauling-in a big time touchdown, adding another dimension to the Hurricanes’ offense.
Last week in Blacksburg, it was a 22-yard scamper to the end zone seconds before halftime. This week, a 37-yard middle screen where Johnson followed his blockers to paydirt, virtually untouched.
While Johnson continues getting NFL-ready, Miami’s true freshman quarterback is growing into a seasoned vet at a rapid pace. Brad Kaaya has gone interception-free the past three outings, while going through his reads, finding open receivers, making big time throws and eliminating those handful of weekly blunders that have made the Canes pay earlier this year.
Improved offensive line play is the ultimate key to Miami’s success. Even in a game without blind-side protector Ereck Flowers—in a season where Taylor Gadbois and K.C. McDermott have been shelved—the Hurricanes’ line paved the way for the ground game, while giving Kaaya the time he needs to stop, set and throw.
Johnson also isn’t being asked to carry the burden alone this year—a big reason why Miami unraveled after his injury last season, leaning on converted safety Dallas Crawford to step in, as well as the not-yet-ready-for-prime-time Gus Edwards.
This year the Canes have Johnson playing at his highest level, Edwards getting better every carry and a third wrinkle with shifty true freshman Joe Yearby, whose speed is proving ankle-breaking regarding opposing defenses.
With a three-headed monster in the backfield, offensive coordinator James Coley is making the most of his weapons. Miami was determined to run the ball two weeks ago at Virginia Tech, imposed their will and went on to wear the Hokies down.
This week, the ground game was the focus from the first snap, set the tone and set up everything else.
Miami’s 13-play, 84-yard opening drive featured ten runs spread between all three backs, amassed 63 yards and ended with a fourth down punch-in by Johnson—the coaches fully trusting the offensive line to create a hole and expecting the veteran back to score.
Possibly lost in the shuffle of such a potent ground game, the fact that Kaaya more than did his job moving the sticks and keeping drives alive.
On Miami’s second possession Kaaya found tight end Clive Walford on 3rd-and-7, moving the sticks. Midway through the second, Kaaya picked up another first down when hitting Standish Dobard for an 18-yard gain and capped the drive with a 14-yard touchdown strike to Walford.
Minutes before halftime, Kaaya dumped off to Yearby for a 26-yard gain on first down and threw for Phillip Dorsett on 2nd-and-7, timing off and allowing North Carolina’s Tim Scott to get a hand on the ball.
On third down, the same playcall—with Walford running Dorsett’s route—and Kaaya stepped into the throw, putting it a foot out of the defender’s reach and in a spot where only Walford could come down with it.
Solid as the offense was for a third week in a row, the Miami defense is finally morphing into a legitimate unit—especially in comparison to losses at Nebraska and Georgia Tech. The Canes’ D held the Tar Heels to 258 yards on the day, only six of which came on the ground.
Miami coaches have obviously made some tweaks to their overall scheme and are being more aggressive in the playcalling—witnessed this week in the form of corner blitzes early on that rattled quarterback Marquese Williams, preventing him from ever finding a groove.
The Hurricanes’ defense is playing with purpose, passion and a bounce in its step. Seemingly gone are the mental mistakes that plagued early on, leaving players and coaches putting blame on freelancing, missed assignments and poor tackling. These days Miami is laying the wood, forcing turnovers and genuinely has a little bit of that n-a-s-t-y back.
Inexperienced players are also finding their way and becoming the playmakers that side of the ball has been starved for.
Jermaine Grace hopped on two fumbles last week and was all over the field against North Carolina, turning into Miami’s best linebacker behind the beastly Denzel Perryman and junior Raphel Kirby isn’t too far behind Grace—a must after booting Alex Figueroa during the offseason and sending Eddie Johnson and Gionni Paul packing last year.
Miami is also getting production out of freshmen like defensive end Chad Thomas, JUCO transfer Calvin Heurtelou, the athletic Corn Elder and first-year starting corner Artie Burns. (Senior leadership also cannot be overlooked, as the return of Perryman and defensive end Anthony Chickillo are a big key to Miami’s overall growth—as well as Walford on offense, another upperclassmen who chose to return.)
Even first-year punter Justin Vogel is proving to be the defense’s best friend, punting out of his mind, giving the Hurricanes a field position advantage and helping steal momentum.
As this run of one-game seasons rolls on, Miami just achieved another mini-milestone as it can only rely on what’s in its control.
The past is the past in regards to a few winnable conference games that got away, while division other rivals might, or might not do what’s required to help the Hurricanes’ in the Coastal—as witnessed Saturday afternoon when Pittsburgh had Duke on the ropes, missed a game-winning field goal and fell in two overtimes, leaving the Blue Devils in the driver’s seat.
Where Miami does get reprieve and a shot at redemption in some form; Florida State—a game that looked unwinnable weeks back, but could see the stars align. The Seminoles are a far cry from last year’s squad and these Hurricanes are just getting going as these two foes are set to meet—opposed to peaking and crumbling last November.
Miami has two weeks to rest up and prepare for Florida State. It will roll in with a healthy Johnson, an overachieving, ahead-of-schedule Kaaya, a top-flight offense line (that could have Flowers back) and an abundance of talent at the skills positions.
Aside from the offense rolling, the Hurricanes defense looks like it’s reached a point where it is tired of being pushed around—ready for a fight. Same for this coaching staff right now, truth be told.
While this Miami team continues its maturation process, Al Golden and his staff seem to have a better understanding of what’s at stake, overall.
Winning was always the game plan, but the outside noise begun to creep in-house the past several weeks. Frustration had reached critical mass—from banner-flying fans, to Board of Trustee members flexing some muscle. It’s truly eat-or-be-eaten time.
Since that realization, everyone has been swinging back in some way, shape or form. That’s not to say Golden and his assistants have done an about face and have solved every issue. It’s simply a nod to the fact Miami is making progress … and don’t for one minute discount the overall Carter Hucks effect, as mentioned constantly over the past few weeks.
Anyone who took the time to watch the Raising Canes segment where the 8-year old spent the Cincinnati week on campus by way of the Make-A-Wish foundation, coaches and players haven’t been the same since—and in case any of that was wearing off, the bad-ass that is Jim Kelly stopped by for homecoming—toughness on display—and served as another valuable lesson in real-deal perspective.
Hucks’ attitude and live-in-the-moment mentality, coupled with all things Kelly—it proved infectious; a true reset button and guiding light for a program that was on the verge of getting lost at sea.
A third consecutive win and overall turnaround deserves to be celebrated. Come tomorrow, so begins the two-week deep dive into figuring out how to knock off the defending national champions in a potential program-defining moment.
#Renewed