The Miami Hurricanes “survived a scare” or won by 17 over the Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday. The Hurricanes held a 20-3 halftime lead and wrapped up the win 34-17.
The Canyonero Keys to Victory main
theme was ‘head down and drive.’ That means just play your game and you’ll win. The three individual keys were:
1- Contain Drones. Drones had a few nice plays but only 155 total yards and zero points. It took multiple attempts to pick up 4th and shorts for VT and Miami stuffed a few of them.
2- Get the run game going. Miami needed to get the run game going but that one failed. Girard Pringle came back down to reality rushing for 49 yards on 14 carries as the feature back. The team averaged only 2.8 yards per carry and failed to score on the ground.
3- Can we see a kick return for a TD?! Miami did not have a kick return and Malachi Toney’s lone punt return was for seven yards. The good thing is Carter Davis hit on a 46-yarder and went 2-for-2 on FG’s.
I predicted Miami by 10 and they won by 17 so there ya go.
The Doppler
The Hurricanes finished 9-of-15 on money downs (2-for-2 on 4th) while holding the Hokies to only 6-of-17 on money downs. VT had a few tries at converting a 4th down in a weird game for the referees.
Va. Tech committed the only turnover of the game when backup QB William Watson III had to come in and fumbled the ball away on a sack.
Miami was flagged for the most penalty yards on the game with 88 yards on nine flags. The Hokies were right behind the ‘Canes with 75 yards on seven flags.
There was little to be said about either return game. Davis was perfect on PAT’s and FG’s as was VT PK John Love. Love made his lone attempt, a 30-yard chip shot, to put VT on the board in the 1st half.
Miami Offense
QB Carson Beck averaged 10 yards per pass attempt with four touchdowns and zero interceptions. Beck even rushed for nine yards on two carries including a pull on a read option play.
Beck found eight different Hurricane receivers yesterday with seven of them hitting the double-digit mark. Toney was the leader of the pack with 12 grabs for 146 yards and one touchdown. Elija Lofton, Mark Fletcher and Pringle also scored through the air.
The run game came back down to earth against the Hokies. Pringle averaged only 3.5 per carry, Fletcher 3.2, and Marty Brown only carried the ball two times for nine yards. Toney had 16 rushing yards and a 15 yard pass as well.
The Hurricanes offensive line allowed no sacks and only three tackles for loss against VT.
Above– Bell on an island vs a DE doing a great job. Feet apart, chest up. Two VT defenders run down on Bauman?! Leaves Marion open on the ‘over’ route.
Above– Beck is reading the safety.
Above– When the safety flips to double the corner there’s a clear hole shot here for Lofton.
Above– Horrible Miami ‘24 comm’s by the VT DB’s but a great look here for Beck.
Above– I dunno what the VT DB is doing but trying to cover Fletcher backwards ain’t gonna work. Fletcher catches the slide route ball and slides into the end zone for a TD.
Above– VT is set up to stop the jet sweep, too bad it’s a Toney pass instead. Miami is going to keep running those little jet sweeps to him just for the eye candy to set up the other plays (criss-cross, screen the other way, Toney pass options).
Above– Miami has ran less condensed sets but when they use them in the passing game they’re working. This takes great communication by VT’s DB’s to hash out who has who of the trips bunch.
Above– Y Sail is a basic Air Raid concept. You can see the slide down low and the sail to Toney in the circle.
Above– With Toney at QB Miami runs inverted veer (power read) with him and Pringle. Bauman is out wide as the lead blocker. Bauman really needs to look inside on this path. If he does he sees the ILB turning and running and can pick him up as the MDM instead.
Above– He never looks inside and the LB makes the play for a TFL. Inside first always.
Above– Fin route cutting inside as a natural pick on two VT defenders frees up Pringle on the wheel route. A nice TD for Pringle. Remember in the Air Raid it’s touches not carries for a RB as they’ll be involved in the pass game as a receiver, and in the screen game.
Above- No comment needed.
Miami Defense
The defense did a great job of holding Drones back. He averaged only 5.9 yards per pass attempt and 2.2 yards per carry. The Miami defense ended the day with five sacks, nine TFL’s and four PBU’s.
The ‘Canes run fits on the other hand left a lot to be desired. They stepped up big in the red zone and on 4th down (on attempts 1-2 but give someone 3-4 and eventually one has to work!). But Marcellous Hawkins and Jeffrey Overton Jr. both went off averaging 9.0 and 9.9 yards per carry, respectively. Overton also scored as did Watson the backup QB.
Drones found six different Hokies receivers and three hit double-digit yards per catch numbers. Ayden Greene caught five balls for 95 yards (19ypc).
Ahmad Moten and Justin Scott had big games inside at DT. Moten logged three TFL’s and two sacks and Scott had 2.5 TFL’s and one sack. With Keionte Scott out and Jakobe Thomas getting banged up, Zechariah Poyser stepped up with a TFL, a PBU, a fumble recovery, and one sack.
Above– I’m not sure if Bain is injured or just worn out but he’s looking exhausted from the jump. Here he goes too deep, he can get where he is and stay flat down the line but instead as you can see from his shoulders he’s going deeper.
Above– I left the original arrow where he should’ve been flat down the line. Now you can see how the other two should play it, inside and outside.
Above– Instead Fitzgerald winds up behind the RB some how and the CB never gets outside to force it back to the LB and S.
Above– Your two LB’ers are on the ground and Bain loafs on the chase and never makes even a grasp at a play.
Above- Toure, being slow, has been turning and running leaving cut back lanes (later for a TD).
Above– I love the effort from Fitzgerald and getting in there to mix it up. But brother, put your head behind the play. You’re a thigh to the head away from being out.
Above– Moten gets immediate penetration on the dip and rip for a TFL. Not sure what the point of VT’s FB taking everyone to the play was but if that path was flipped he could’ve wham blocked Moten. Whoops.
Above– Bissainthe gets blown up and winds up on the ground again but at least he slows down the RB. Scott who is running like a LB closes this one out.
Above– Mesidor is getting really hard to contain now that he’s healthy again. He dips under to split the OT and RB. The interior push closes the play in on Drones for a sack.
Above– Drones is going to read the back side DE. If the DE squeezes the OT pulling the Q will pull and run. If the DE sits like he does here, it’s a give read.
Above– With Toure over-running every play he gets swallowed up by an OL bc he vacates his gap. The RB is cut and go here.
Above– Bain and Scott go too deep and the RB comes under them. Now this is how a RB reads his blockers. Butt outside means cut outside. If he cuts inside it’s a hold or a stop.
Above– Up top the WR’s butt is inside so he has to cut under it. Great vision and cutting from the back.
Above- Poyser in the K. Scott role coming off the edge unseen and untouched. He comes away with a huge sack on 3rd and long here. Later he recovers a fumble, too.
Above– Toure has a clear kill shot…
Above– …And just sticks an arm out there. I dunno what to tell you about him except he’s terrible.
Above- Watson the backup QB scores here. I’m not sure how but VT has two of the toughest QB’s in CFB on the same roster.
The Wrap
I realize that the Hokies have a horrid pass defense but Beck looked phenomenal on Saturday. OC Shannon Dawson and Beck have gotten more creative and it’s nice to see Toney being used in every way imaginable. Miami is going to need Beck and Toney to be on their A+ game against a pesky Pitt Panthers team that just beat Georgia Tech after being dominated by Notre Dame a week prior.
Mario Cristobal and Pat Narduzzi is the battle of the cavemen coaches and whoever wins gets the right to the Monolith. Miami did their job and beat the Hokies on the road, on to the next one.
