Canes Ready For Familiar Bowl Foe Wisconsin
By David Villavicencio
HurricaneSports.com
NEW YORK – Miami and Wisconsin will battle in three days at the 2018 New Era Pinstripe Bowl and both teams are very familiar with each other.
The Hurricanes and Badgers are set to meet again less than 365 days since they last faced off in the 2017 Capitol One Orange Bowl. Miami head coach Mark Richt believes his team is on target in terms of preparation for this year’s rematch against Wisconsin.
“It’s time to get ready, no doubt,” Richt said. “We had a good practice today and had a good one yesterday. The weather has been as good as we could hope for. The guys know we have a big task ahead of us.”
Wisconsin prides itself on being a physical team at the line of scrimmage. The Badgers are known for their mauling offensive line, while their defense used physicality to post 4.0 tackles for loss and three sacks against the Canes a year ago.
“They look to be really similar to what they did last year,” wide receiver Lawrence Cager said. “We’re going to try to be the more physical team. We have to dig down and play grown man football and I think we can do just that.”
The Badgers are among the nation’s best at running the football, as All-American tailback Jonathan Taylor heads into the final game of the season with 1,989 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns. Wisconsin will also be without starting quarterback Alex Hornibrook, further emphasizing the Badgers’ need to establish and succeed in their ground attack.
“It’s obvious, you get a guy close to 2,000 yards that they run the ball and the run the ball well,” Richt said. “Jonathan is one of the in America and we’ve got to get ready for that type of battle.”
But the Canes have their own talented stable of running backs, led by junior Travis Homer and sophomore DeeJay Dallas, and their rush attack will look to shine in the season finale.Miami’s duo has combined for 1,578 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns this season. Freshman Cam’Ron Davis also came on late in the year and enters the bowl game with 167 rushing yards and a pair of rushing scores.
“Things are going well,” Richt said of the offense. “They’re working hard, execution is getting better every day and the scout team is doing their part. We’re looking forward to a big day.”
Homer has been Miami’s top back all season, earning All-ACC honors after posting 969 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns over the 2018 regular season. A year ago, Homer had success against the Badgers, rushing for 69 yards and a touchdown, but the junior is looking to do more this year and help his team come away with a victory.
“It’s going to be nice to get them again from what happened last year, but it’s just another opportunity to come out and do what we need to do,” Homer said.
Just 31 yards shy of posting his second consecutive 1,000-yard rushing campaign, Homer is a quiet leader who lets his play do the talking for him.
“Like a silent assassin,” wide receiver Mike Harley said. “He’s just quiet, but game time between the lines, he’ll run through you, run over you and kill you.”
Homer’s example resonates throughout the Canes’ locker room and helps set the tone for the offense.
“When it’s crunch time, that’s the one for the offense so far I’ve seen for the past two years, that’s who I’ve seen really step up when things start getting tough.”
Miami’s offensive players have immense respect for the talented junior running back and they want to see him eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season.
“That’s my boy. That’s my boy,” Dallas said. “I learned a lot from him. Just after the Florida State game last year, he kind of took me under his wing. That was the game that I moved to running back. So, he just kind of took me under his wing and we became brothers from Day One. I mean, that is my guy.”
“Travis does everything,” offensive lineman Tyree St. Louis said. “He shows up on time. He’s a hard worker. He’s a great person. Great person on the field, off the field. Everyone knows exactly what he’s capable of and it’s going to be our goal to get him past 1,000 yards this year.”
