With games against ACC Championship contenders Florida State, Clemson, Virginia Tech, and Duke, the Miami Hurricanes enter the brutal gauntlet of their 2015 schedule. With exceptional talent that has been stymied at times by coaching, a 4-0 record may be a stretch, but isn’t impossible. For the next four weeks, I will be highlighting what the Hurricanes need to do to pull off the upset in their respective games.
With pressure on head coach Al Golden, along with his counterpart at Florida State Jimbo Fisher and the Seminoles scrapping by with a victory against Wake Forest last week, the potential for an upset is high Saturday for the Hurricanes.
After having to hang on to win against Wake Forest after entering the game as 20-point favorites, Florida State is still adjusting to life after Jameis Winston. Quarterback Everett Golson has been formidable, but the offense relies heavily on running back Dalvin Cook, whose injury in the first quarter limited the Seminoles offense for the remainder of the game. With the score 24-10 in the third quarter, Wake Forest was able to come within eight and had one last drive to potentially tie the game. Florida State was able to hang on for the win due to a Tyler Hunter interception in the end zone on the Deacons’ final drive.
The Hurricanes on the other hand head to Tallahassee after being out coached in their loss to Cincinnati last Thursday.
In the first half, the game looked poised to be a shootout, but Cincy was able to take advantage of costly mistakes by Miami on the field and on the sideline, to defeat Miami for the first time in 60 years.
The rivalry may not have the same national implications as in the past, but still has relevance in the state of Florida and the ACC.
Miami fans may be calling for Golden’s head, but an upset may quiet those jeers. In one of the biggest intraconference rivalries in all of college football an upset is a high possibility, but there are three areas the Hurricanes need to focus on to make it happen.
HOW MIAMI CAN UPSET FLORIDA STATE
Stop Dalvin Cook
Golson was a big off season acquisition for the Seminoles, but their offense runs through Cook. Cook leads the ACC in yards per game with an average of 158.7, and led all rushers with 94 yards against Wake Forest – accumulated on one rush early in the first quarter before his injury. With Cook out, the Seminoles managed only 33 rushing yards.
Miami struggled stopping the run against Cincy, giving up 167 yards total and allowing both Cincy running backs to come within striking distance of the century mark. The Hurricanes are giving up 149 yards per game on the ground, and have been hit with several injuries to the linebacker corps.
Hopefully defensive coordinator Mark D’Onofrio went through the basics of tackling this week after several missed tackles last week allowed Miami to give up so much yardage on the ground; exemplified with Rashawn Jenkins’ failure to bring Cincy running back Hosey Williams down in the backfield. Williams turned that missed tackle into a 40 yard touchdown run. To stop the Seminoles rush attack, the defensive line will have to disrupt their offensive line at the point of impact, allowing the linebackers and safeties to prevent Cook from busting long runs like we have seen from him this season. When any contact is made with Cook, the defense MUST wrap up and have 11 hats to the football at all times to prevent those long runs.
Continue to feed Joe Yearby the ball
There isn’t enough that can be said about quarterback Brad Kaaya, but running back Joe Yearby is just as major a catalyst of the Hurricanes offense.
The sophomore is averaging 7.3 yards per carry and has rushed for over 100 yards in three consecutive games. FSU has only given up 3.8 yards per carry and one touchdown on the season, but combine Yearby’s play with Kaaya, and the Hurricanes have two offensive threats that the Seminoles will have to watch out for. Running their offense through Yearby will take the pressure off of Kaaya, and will allow him to take advantage of a FSU pass defense that struggled at times in pass coverage against Wake Forest.
Coaching, coaching, coaching
For the majority of his time in Coral Gables Al Golden’s coaching has been questioned repeatedly. The answer may be to fire him after last week’s loss in Cincinnati, but the administration is electing to keep him around for now. A victory to start the murderer’s row of the Miami schedule may give him a chance at redemption.
Golden told the Miami Herald that we can expect “subtle changes to play-calling and personnel” which the Cincy loss “necessitated.” Golden wouldn’t share the exact changes being implemented, but it is obvious that last week served as a wake-up call. Wide receiver Stacy Coley returns after an injury plagued his start to the season, which will add more fire power to the Hurricanes offense.
Whatever changes Golden has made had better work out Saturday if the Hurricanes look to pull off the upset, and if Golden wants to hold onto his job for at least another week.
If you ask some Miami fans, they don’t want to see an upset. Another loss for the Hurricanes means Al Golden is one step closer to getting the boot. But there is no way this team lays down against an archrival on the road; especially considering how they let the Seminoles slip away last season. This FSU team is not as good as last year’s team, and Miami played them close before letting them slip away in the end. Continuing to run through the offense through Yearby, and implementing the changes that Golden claims to have made, Miami can walk out of Doak Campbell Stadium with their first decisive win of the season.
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