The Sports Xchange
NCAAF Team Report – Miami – INSIDE SLANT
Miami Hurricanes coach Al Golden was hoping to get a truer measure of his team on its trip to Chicago to take on the ninth-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
The measure he got shows that despite the three-game winning streak the Hurricanes had coming into the game, they have a long way to go before reaching the dominance they achieved through the 1980s, ’90s, and early 2000s, when they won five national titles.
Notre Dame completely dominated the game 41-3, limiting a Miami team that had gone for over 500 yards in total offense its last two games against Georgia Tech and North Carolina to just 285 on the night and shredding the usually porous Miami defense for 587 yards.
The Irish simply overpowered Miami with its ground game in the second half, getting 270 of its 376 rushing yards over the final two quarters.
In his postgame press conference, Golden pointed to the youth of the team — 34 freshmen and sophomores played against the Irish, he said — and noted the Hurricanes were playing their fourth road game in six outings. This was the second game for them against a top 10 team and the second big loss.
The Hurricanes lost earlier at Kansas State 52-13.
“What we’ve got to do right now is get back to Miami, heal up, and then get ready for our first homestand of the year,” Golden said. “We are not going to get negative. We are not going to go that route.
“There’s too many kids in that room that have bright futures and that really played hard. We just didn’t play well enough, and we got beat by a really good team.
“Simple as that.”
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NCAAF Team Report – Miami – NOTES, QUOTES
WHAT’S AHEAD: Miami, which has been on the road for four games, finally gets a little home cooking going. The Hurricanes are home for their next three games, starting with a visit from North Carolina. The Tar Heels are 4-2 after whipping the Virginia Tech Hokies. After the Heels, the Hurricanes, who also are 4-2 overall but 3-0 in the ACC and lead the Coastal Division, get Florida State followed by an open date and then a visit from Virginia Tech in a Thursday night affair to start November.
–Miami became the first team to score in the first quarter against Notre Dame this season when PK Jake Wieclaw converted a 28-yard field goal with 5:32 left in the period.
–It can be a quick trip from hero to goat, as sophomore WR Phillip Dorsett learned to his dismay. After catching a 62-yard pass with 19 seconds left for the deciding touchdown in the win over North Carolina State a week earlier, Dorsett dropped not one but two long passes against Notre Dame, costing the Hurricanes a touchdown on Miami’s first series.
–The temperature at game time in Chicago was 47 degrees, which was close to 40 degrees colder than it had been when the Hurricanes had kicked off at noon in Miami against North Carolina State.
KEEP AN EYE ON: Freshman LB Raphael Kirby, who missed the first five games because of a leg injury, had five tackles in his season debut.
LOOKING GOOD: Not a whole lot went right for Miami against Notre Dame, but it was just a 13-3 game at halftime before the Irish took complete control. The Hurricanes moved from their own 28-yard line to the Irish 43 on their first series and from their 39 to the Irish 11 before settling for a field goal on their second possession.
STILL NEEDS WORK: It wasn’t just Dorsett’s drops that cost Miami an early touchdown. QB Stephen Morris had a 13-yard touchdown run in the first quarter nullified by a holding call against LG Jonathan Feliciano. For the game, the Hurricanes were penalized nine times for 76 yards, including a personal foul against DT Darius Smith that set up a first-and-goal after the Hurricanes had made a third-down stop against the Irish.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “I was in disbelief.” — Sophomore WR Phillip Dorsett, in the Palm Beach Post, after dropping two long touchdown passes on the first series of the game.
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NCAAF Team Report – Miami – STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
PLAYER NOTES:
–Junior QB Stephen Morris was only 18-of-35 passing for 201 yards against Notre Dame but was the victim of at least a half-dozen drops. He gained 14 yards on two runs and had a 13-yard touchdown scamper nullified by penalty.
–Senior CB Brandon McGee led Miami in tackles with nine, including one for a loss, but whiffed on one long Irish run.
–Senior PK Jake Wieclaw ended his streak of missed field-goal attempts by converting from 28 yards on his first attempt but then missed from 47 on his second.
–Senior P Dalton Botts averaged 42.2 yards on five punts, three downed inside the Notre Dame 20-yard line.
ROSTER REPORT
–Sophomore LB Denzel Perryman returned after a two-game absence because of injury and had eight tackles, seven of them solo, against Notre Dame.
–Redshirt freshman DT Corey King got his first start in place of injured sophomore DT Pierre Olsen. King was credited with three tackles.
–Freshman LB Raphael Kirby, who missed the first month because of a leg injury, made his season debut and had five tackles.
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