Ten Things We Learned From UM's ACC Opener
By Christy Cabrera Chirinos
HurricaneSports.com
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – For the Hurricanes, it was another heartbreaker.
After a slow start against a surging North Carolina team that was riding high after opening the season with a win over South Carolina, Miami rallied to not only overcome a two-touchdown deficit, but take a late fourth-quarter lead in Chapel Hill late Saturday night.
In the end though, Miami couldn’t hang onto that lead. The Tar Heels scored the eventual game-winning touchdown with 1:01 left, the Hurricanes couldn’t answer on the game’s final drive and North Carolina escaped with a 28-25 win.
Needless to say, head coach Manny Diaz and his players were plenty frustrated afterward.
“We just have to improve,” Diaz said. “I think what will break the defense’s hearts – full credit to what North Carolina did – is just to see the easy offense, either in the run game or the throw game, that they gave those guys on that side of the ball. A lot of things don’t look like Miami Hurricanes football and that will be a big point of emphasis this week at practice, for sure.”
As disappointed as the Hurricanes were, though, there were some positives Miami can build on as it heads into its home opener against Bethune-Cookman on Saturday, including some improved offensive line and quarterback play.
Here, a look at some of what the Hurricanes learned about themselves against North Carolina:
1. Jarren Williams showed he’s coachable
In the days after Miami’s season opener, Hurricanes offensive coordinator Dan Enos stressed that while redshirt freshman quarterback Jarren Williams had been smart in not turning the ball over against Florida, some of Williams’ mistakes – including hanging onto the ball too long on several plays – took a toll on the offense.
Against North Carolina early, Williams showed improvement on that front, moving out of the pocket when he needed to on some plays and throwing the ball away on others. One result? Miami’s sack total dropped from 10 to four. Another? Williams finished the night 30 of 39 for 309 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Is there still room for growth? Williams acknowledged post-game there is. But both he and Diaz were pleased with the progress the young quarterback showed from game one to game two.
“I would say it was definitely better, but I still don’t feel like I’m where I want to be,” Williams said. “There were some plays at the end of the game I could have made but I didn’t. I feel like I got better from the first game to now, but I have to keep working and getting better. That’s my mindset.”
Said Diaz, “Jarren did a good job. I thought you could see the growth of our offensive line from week one to week two. I thought he had a lot of clean pockets to throw the ball in and guys were making some plays down the field. We scored enough points to win the football game tonight. There’s no doubt about that.”
2. A revamped offensive line provided better protection
Miami’s young offensive line took some lumps against Florida two weeks ago and that eventually prompted a change in the rotation against North Carolina.
Freshman Jakai Clark, a former three-star prospect out of Georgia’s Grayson High, made the first start of his college career Saturday, lining up at right guard. That move shifted D.J. Scaife to right tackle, with Corey Gaynor at center, Navaughn Donaldson at left guard and Zion Nelson, another freshman, at left tackle.
The result? The Hurricanes totaled 488 yards of offense, Williams consistently had more time to make better throws, running back DeeJay Dallas topped the 100-yard mark and Miami outgained North Carolina on the ground 179-97.
“It gave us a chance to function,” Diaz said of the new offensive line alignment. “I thought we ran the ball very well. Our backs ran hard. We made a goal that we wanted to out-rush them and we had established that for most of the game.”
3. DeeJay Dallas and Cam Harris remain a potent duo
Miami’s top two running backs showed their potential in the opener against Florida. They built on that against North Carolina.
Dallas, a junior, finished with a game-high 107 rushing yards. He also had the game’s longest running play, a 37-yard scamper in the fourth quarter that led to a touchdown. Harris, meanwhile, averaged six yards on his 10 carries and showed off his speed on another long run that wound up being negated by a penalty.
Between them, Dallas and Harris totaled 167 yards, showing once again, the Hurricanes have the potential to have a solid ground game this season.
4. Williams used his stable of receivers
Entering the season, Williams raved about the offensive playmakers around him, primarily the receivers and tight ends he’d be working with as he adapted to the college game.
Against North Carolina, the redshirt freshman delivered the ball to nine different receivers, with veterans K.J. Osborn and Jeff Thomas leading the way with seven catches. Those were career highs for both. Tight end Brevin Jordan finished with six catches for 73 yards and Mike Harley had a career-high 79 yards, including a 38-yard catch that proved to be Miami’s longest play of the night.
Also making catches Saturday were Dallas, tight end Will Mallory, Mark Pope, Michael Irvin II, and Dee Wiggins.
5. Miami left too many crucial points on the board
Kicker Bubba Baxa seemed to be headed for a big night when he kicked a career-long 50-yard field goal in the first quarter that gave Miami its first score of the night.
But the sophomore endured challenges later, missing a field goal from 26 yards in the second quarter and a potential game-tying field goal from 49 yards on the game’s final seconds. Miami also had an extra-point attempt blocked in the third quarter and in the fourth quarter the offense came up short on a two-point conversion.
In all, the Hurricanes missed out on nine points they could have had. In a 28-25 loss, that proved tough to overcome.
6. Learning to finish will be a point of emphasis
In their two losses, the Hurricanes haven’t been able to hang on to fourth-quarter leads. That, Diaz stressed Saturday, has to change. Quickly.
His players seemed to be taking his post-game message to heart, with Williams, Osborn, linebacker Michael Pinckney and linebacker Shaquille Quarterman all acknowledging they have to step up on that front, particularly because they hold leadership positions in the locker room.
“When we get a lead, we can’t relax. We can’t take our foot off their necks,” Williams said. “We got up and I feel like we got a little complacent. Guys started relaxing a little bit. That’s something we have to address. When we get up, we can’t stop. We have to keep beating, keep beating, keep beating and keep going until the game’s over with.”
Added Pinckney, “The sense of urgency wasn’t there, I feel like. And we’ve got to come back and do better. As a leader, that’s on me and the other leaders.”
7. Improving communication will be key
Ahead of Saturday’s game, the Hurricanes said they understood the kind of emotionally-charged environment they were going to face in Chapel Hill.
North Carolina was riding momentum after beating South Carolina in its opener. The Tar Heels were playing their first game at Kenan Memorial Stadium since coach Mack Brown’s return to Chapel Hill. And in the past, Kenan’s always proved a tough place for Miami to win, period.
Ultimately, though, there were some early lapses in communication that proved costly, Diaz noted, especially as the Tar Heels built a 17-3 lead in the first quarter.
Getting that corrected and eliminating slow starts will also be priorities moving forward.
“Our communication was secondary. We were cutting guys completely free, giving free offense, which is something we pride ourselves on not doing,” Diaz said. “Once we settled down, there was a large segment in the middle of the game where we were dominant and then we lost our edge in the fourth quarter and we allowed them to score there at the end.”
8. The secondary is enduring some growing pains
After losing a trio of veteran starters in Sheldrick Redwine, Jaquan Johnson and Michael Jackson, the Hurricanes knew they might face some growing pains in the secondary, even as talented young players were being called on to fill those roles.
That proved the case at times Saturday, with North Carolina totaling 292 passing yards and the Hurricanes allowing pass plays of 62, 39, 36 and 20 yards. Making things tougher in the back end? The fact Miami lost safety Amari Carter early in the game after he was penalized for targeting.
After the game, Diaz said some of Miami’s inexperience showed.
“I think there was some youth, especially going into this environment, being here on the road and coming off of a bye, that game-sharpness and being ready to play for some guys,” he responded when asked about the secondary’s play. “Once they settled down, they were okay. But the damage had been done.”
9. Still, challenges and all, the Hurricanes showed resilience
As gut-wrenching as Saturday’s loss was and as disappointed as the Hurricanes were in their slow start, they do know this — they showed resilience.
Things looked grim for Miami late in the first quarter, with the Hurricanes quickly in a 17-3 hole. But, Miami rallied and it chipped away at the Tar Heel lead to eventually, take a lead of its own.
The Hurricanes didn’t quit and as Diaz noted, once they settled down, there was some fight.
For Miami, the next test is proving that resilience carries over from game to game. While there’s disappointment in the 0-2 start, the season isn’t over. The bulk of Miami’s ACC schedule still looms. The goal of winning the Coastal Division and playing for an ACC title isn’t out of reach. Players said as much after the loss. There’s work to do, they acknowledged, but still lots of time in which to do it.
“We have a long season ahead of us,” Quarterman said. “Nobody’s feeling like the season is lost. Social media will say one thing, but in our locker room, where it really counts, we’re not worried about that. We’re going to show up every Saturday.”
10. A five-game home stand may be just what Miami needs
After opening the season against Florida in Orlando and opening ACC play against North Carolina in Chapel Hill, the Hurricanes are finally set to return to Hard Rock Stadium for the first time since last November’s regular-season finale over Pittsburgh.
The Hurricanes will be home for games against Bethune-Cookman, Central Michigan, Virginia Tech, Virginia and Georgia Tech before heading to Pittsburgh on Oct. 26.
That’s a lot of time to get things worked out in a place that’s plenty comfortable.
“Everybody’s ready to play next week and the week after that,” Quarterman said. “It feels good going home to our crowd and our stadium and it gives us time to reflect.”
