The Sports Xchange
NCAAF Team Report – Miami – INSIDE SLANT
The last time Miami played Notre Dame, Al Golden was sitting in a suite at the Sun Bowl on a chilly New Year’s Eve afternoon watching the Irish dominate the Hurricanes by far more than the final 33-17 score.
Golden had been named Miami’s coach earlier in the month, succeeding Randy Shannon, who had been fired the day after the overtime loss to South Florida in the regular-season finale.
Golden preferred to let line coach Jeff Stoutland, who had been preparing the Hurricanes for their bowl appearance as the interim coach, run the game.
Golden is reluctant to talk about that experience now as the Hurricanes get ready for a rematch with the Irish, this time in Chicago.
“It’s a different time and place,” Golden said.
“It simply is not right to have to answer questions about his judgment of a situation that “really wasn’t fair,” he said.
“It wasn’t fair to the team. It was a tough time for everybody that was associated with the game at that time,” he said. “Out of respect, it’s not for me to comment on that.”
One thing he will acknowledge is how far the Hurricanes have come from that day.
After an up-and-down 6-6 season last year, they are off to a 4-1 start and shown a remarkable resiliency in winning their last two games, coming from 17 points down to beat Georgia Tech in overtime and bouncing back for a 44-37 win after blowing an early 16-point lead against North Carolina State.
Notre Dame, though, also has come a fair way since its Sun Bowl victory. The Irish are 4-0 and coming off an open week.
“Are we ready for this challenge? We’ll find out,” Golden said. “But I know we’ve climbed a couple rungs since then.”
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NCAAF Team Report – Miami – NOTES, QUOTES
–Miami has had three straight games with at least 400 yards in total offense. The 651 yards in the win over North Carolina State are the third most in school history (689 vs. UCLA in 1998, 655 vs. Boston College in 1984).
–The Hurricanes won six of eight meetings against Notre Dame between 1981-89. Included in that span was the biggest spread in the series, Miami’s 58-7 pounding of the Irish in coach Gerry Faust’s final season at South Bend in 1985.
–Miami is going for its first win over a team ranked in the Top 10 sine 2009, when it defeated then-No. 8 Oklahoma 21-20.
SERIES HISTORY: Notre Dame leads Miami 16-7-1 (last meeting, 2010, Notre Dame 33-17)
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: Miami’s passing game has been on target in the last two games with QB Stephen Morris throwing for 436 yards against Georgia Tech and a school-record 566 against North Carolina State. The Hurricanes also have had two 100-yard receivers in each of the games, Phillip Dorsett and Davon Johnson against Tech and Dorsett and Rashawn Scott against N.C. State. RB Mike James also is beginning show more signs of recovery from the toe injury that hampered his 2011 season.
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: Miami has struggled on defense even in its wins. Opponents, including FCS member Bethune-Cookman, which rushed for 233 yards, have run for an average of just under 226 yards a game. In giving up 33.4 points a game, the Hurricanes rank in a tie with Wake Forest for 98th out of 120 FBS teams in scoring defense. The Hurricanes are 112th against the run nationally.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “How cold are we talking about? Green Bay Packer cold? I hope we’re not to the point where we’ve all got to huddle around a heater. I hope we are tough enough just to go out and play.” — Coach Al Golden, on the prospects of temperatures in the mid-40s for the game at Chicago, about a 40-degree drop from the Hurricanes’ last outing against North Carolina State in Miami.
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NCAAF Team Report – Miami – STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
THIS WEEK’S GAME: Miami vs. Notre Dame, at Chicago, Oct. 6 — This was a classic matchup in the 1980s, but the two teams did not play each other after the 1990 meeting until 2010, when they played in the Sun Bowl. That proved to be a less-than-classic matchup with the Irish winning handily, leading 27-3 at the half on their way to a 33-17 victory.
KEYS TO THE GAME: Get some stops. Miami’s defense has been rather generous in giving up 73 points in the last two wins. The offense has made up for it with big plays, but needs to be more consistent.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
WR Phillip Dorsett — Dorsett has 375 yards receiving in just the last two games and three of his 16 receptions went for touchdowns. His 62-yard catch with just 19 seconds left was the game-winner against North Carolina State.
RB Duke Johnson — Johnson has been quiet the last two games, rushing for just 101 yards in the two outings combined. But he is a threat to break a big play on any carry, and he has the same capability receiving and running back kickoffs.
LB Eddie Johnson — Johnson made the stop of the year on Georgia Tech in overtime, stuffing the Yellow Jackets on fourth and less than a yard inside the 5-yard line. He continues to get around the football and has 31 tackles, 3.5 for losses.
ROSTER REPORT
–Sophomore LB Denzel Perryman, who missed the last two games with what was reported as a lower extremity injury, is back on the depth chart at No. 1 for the game against Notre Dame.
–Sophomore DT Olsen Pierre is “doubtful” for the Notre Dame game because of an undisclosed injury.
–Senior RT Ben Jones, who started against North Carolina State but hurt his foot early in the game, will not play against Notre Dame.
–Junior OT Jermaine Johnson apparently has left the team for “personal reasons,” according to coach Al Golden.
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