allCanesBlog.com guest columnist Scott Alan Salomon chimes in regarding the Miami Hurricanes’ recent loss to the Florida State Seminoles and how a quick rebound is needed this week against the Virginia Tech Hokies if the Canes are going to hang tough in the ACC’s Coastal Division.
Last week’s loss at Florida State was deflating, no doubt about it.
The good thing is that there is still plenty of football left to play and the Canes only have one loss heading into the rest of ACC play and are just now starting to play their Coastal Division opponents.
Heading into this week’s game against Virginia Tech, Miami is in a position to take advantage of a weak division and the fact that they are playing their tough conference games at home. Miami will face both Georgia Tech and Clemson, nemesis’ the past few years, at the friendly confines of Sun Life Stadium. It would be remarkable if Canes fans could pack the stadium and give Miami a true home-field advantage.
Duke and Pitt are currently at the top of the Coastal, but Miami is not far behind as they only have played one ACC game, while mostly everyone else has played two or three. Duke and Pitt are currently 2-0, but both still have tough road games ahead and both schools have to play Miami. Miami can ostensibly make up big ground, on their own, if they can beat both schools. Pitt travels to Georgia Tech this week, which is due for a win and Duke has a bye.
One thing that Miami cannot do is have the same let down that they had the last two seasons, after they lost to FSU, and fall into the abyss and stop playing Hurricane football. UM coach Al Golden assured the writers that were on the ACC conference call yesterday that it would not happen this season.
“Again, from our standpoint, all of our focus has been on Virginia Tech. Since Sunday, we’re getting good leadership. Our guys are investing. Obviously, they played really well on Friday night in all three phases. That’s all we’re focused on right now,” Golden said.
“We’re not worried about last year or whether it was this time last year or how we played against Virginia Tech a year ago. None of that matters. It just matters what we do and what kind of game plan we put together and how we execute. The way we’re addressing it is just complete focus on Virginia Tech and then obviously doing the things that we need to do to play well in the game.”
Golden is looking at every week, the same way that Canes fans should be approaching the balance of this season. Miami has to go 1-0 every week and take the season one game at a time.
“We have to play well. The only thing that matters is this week. So we have to play well. From that standpoint, the only thing that matters is how do we create excellence with our opportunities today? How do we improve?,” Golden asked rhetorically. “How do we maintain consistent play in all three phases? So that’s really where our focus is. The only thing that matters is this game. It’s really 50 days and a one-game season right now. So that’s where our mind’s at.”
Miami has a lot to be excited about coming out of the Florida State game. Brad Kaaya took his game to a new level against a top ranked defense. Stacy Coley performed very well and might be in the best shape of his career, despite a nagging injury that he sustained at Florida State on his touchdown catch, and the running back tandem of Joe Yearby and Mark Walton have taken the ground game to new heights.
Golden likes what he sees from the young backs and wants to get them integrated and immersed in even more of the offensive production. That would mean that the offensive line play would have to step up even more.
“I think they’re doing a good job, Joe and Mark, and we’ve got to do a better job up front at tight end and offensive line. Again, I think, obviously, last week we had a hard time running the football, and that coupled with the fact that we saw some opportunities down the field kind of made us go that route. I think everybody that — it’s not a secret that we want to be a balanced team, and we’ve always tried to be a balanced team,” Golden said.
“I love what Joe and Mark bring and [Trayone] Gray, if he goes in the game, or [Walter] Tucker. I think from that standpoint we’ve just got to continue to formation it and get the calls that we want against the looks that we want so we can have a good running game.”
Miami also has to be pleased with the pressure that they put on the quarterback in the second half of the FSU game. They went with a five-man front most of the second half and corralled the FSU quarterback and run game much better than they did in the first half. But for a mental lapse late in the game, Miami shut down Dalvin Cook in the second half, as best as anyone can shut him down, and almost escaped with the victory in a hostile environment.
Right now, Miami needs to go 1-0 against Virginia Tech this week and then worry about the next game when it comes up.
“Well, again, they are — when you look at the Coastal Division, they’ve won the most ACC Championships and probably have won the most division championships. So from that standpoint, it is a rival, and it is a significant game,” Golden said.
“We put 2-2 in our four contests. It’s really been a series where the previous year doesn’t matter. Last year, it doesn’t matter, and really for our ball club, last week doesn’t matter. We have to invest in this game emotionally, mentally, and physically.”