Canes Determined to Stay on Track vs. Virginia

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Trust the Process. Stay the Course.

No matter what phrase or mantra a team chooses to use, the message is the same. The Miami Hurricanes are determined to continue their success on the football field and that can only happen if they focus on getting better every single week.

“Every game, you’ve got to rebuild it and the second you think it’s a habit, that’s when you get beat,” head coach Manny Diaz said. “You just have to be aware of that the gravity of mediocrity is so strong and if you’re not fighting and scratching and clawing and swimming against it, it’ll just suck you back into the mediocre middle.”

Coming off a 31-19 win over Pittsburgh last time out, the #11/#11 Miami Hurricanes will look to build off that momentum Saturday at 8 p.m. against Virginia.

“We tell our players every week that it is hard to win a football game,” Diaz said. “You have to respect the process of winning a game…We have to appreciate what these players have accomplished so far and yet we have to understand what we have accomplished is irrelevant because here comes Virginia and we have to get ready for those guys. College football operates in a different world every week.”

Miami is looking to continue its strong start to 2020; with a win Saturday, UM would have five wins in its first six games for the third time in the last four seasons.

“Virginia is always a challenge,” Diaz said. “When you think of a Bronco Mendenhall team you think defense, very multiple in their fronts and in their coverages. And for another week we’re going to be facing an uncertainty in terms of who the starting quarterback is. Last week with Pitt it didn’t really change what they were going to do on offense. What Virginia has shown, they do really change who they are based on who their quarterback is. So, it’ll be a challenge for our defense to show their preparation and awareness during the game to see what we’re going to get because we really probably will not know until Saturday.”

While UVA starter Brennan Armstrong’s availability is in question due to a concussion, the Cavaliers have a multitude of options at quarterback. Last week at Wake Forest, Virginia used a three-quarterback rotation of Lindell Stone along with Keytaon Thompson and Ira Armstead, with each player bringing a unique skillset to the position.

“I think they stumbled upon something at Wake Forest. I do think rolling some of those other quarterbacks in there gave them a shot in the arm,” Diaz said. “They do change a little bit with those other guys in there, but again that’s changing in a small sample size so they could certainly expand the package with those other two that went in. It’s hard for us to say, ‘Well hey, when they go in, it’s only going to be this.’ One guy is a true freshman and one guys is a transfer that his role is increasing. So we’ve got to prepare for the Virginia offense that we’ve kind of seen in some version of the last five years. Got to prepare for what they showed at Wake Forest and then kind of been able to anticipate how they can expand those guys’ package and then just stay loose and adjust during the course of the game. We expect we’ll see something that we haven’t seen and we’ll just have to adjust to it during the game.”

The Cavaliers have some exceptional talent on defense, led by Zane Zandier (37 total tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss) and Noah Taylor (5.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks). Pass rusher Charles Snowden is another key player for a Virginia’s defense that has proven itself stout in its last two games against Miami.

“I know we’ve played them the last two years and I don’t think anybody has gotten to 20 points,” Diaz said. “I’m not sure if anybody has gotten to 17 points in this game over the last two years. They’ve got a lot of pride in what they do. They do have a lot of experienced players.”

Miami quarterback D’Eriq King believes the Canes are up to the challenge of facing a Cavaliers defense that has a lot of playmakers.

“They have a pretty good defense, really, really long and athletic and they can make plays in space,” King said. “We’ve just got to take what they give us and take those shots when they come.”

Saturday’s game vs. Virginia is the 18th matchup in the history of the series; UM leads the series 10-7, including a 6-2 lead in games played in Miami. The Hurricanes have won four of the last five matchups overall dating back to 2015 and have not lost to the Cavaliers at Hard Rock Stadium since 2011.

“Every week, it’s a big game,” tight end Will Mallory said. “Virginia is a really good team. They won our division last year, so you can’t pass it up and take that lightly. Every week is a big week. You’re playing division games every weekend. So, each of them are going to be challenging and you’re playing good players. Looking at them, we respect their defense and what they have because they’ve got some players on there. So, I think we’ve done a good job of prepping this week so we’ve just got to go out there and do what we do.”

Diaz and his coaching staff, along with team leaders like King, Mallory, linebacker Zach McCloud and safety Amari Carter, have made sure Miami’s players have the correct mindset every week.

“We can’t predict what’s going to happen, but what I will tell you is we’re much more intentional in understanding the difficulty of winning a football game against anybody and giving everybody that we play the proper respect that they deserve,” Diaz said. “It’s not made up; this is not like every team is the greatest team of all time. We show every week that there is an avenue to our defeat through this team’s strengths and if we don’t take those things away and we don’t play at our best and don’t play to our strengths, we will get beat. You get a weekly show of that around the country.

“That doesn’t mean that we are going to play our best every week,” Diaz continued. “It is very hard to be the same team all eleven, twelve weeks in a row, but what I will tell you is that our players understand it and they respect it more that it was crucial that inside the building we never said, that we never believed that winning is easy. And I think that respect for that has been something that they’ve been able to carry on through the first month of the season.”

Having the right mentality and sticking together as a team are two keys that King believes have the Hurricanes on track to maintain their success.

“I think the team has a good feel right now. I know we lost one game. But I think as far as just staying together, I think that’s the most important thing for us,” King said. “We’ve just got to keep staying together and to keep believing and keep getting better every single day in practice. There are going to be mistakes in the game. There’s going to be things you’ve got to correct. We all know that, especially me being a quarterback. On offense, we’ve got to correct a lot of things but I think if we keep coming into the building and have the right attitude, I think those things will get corrected.”

In last year’s matchup at Hard Rock Stadium, a stout defensive performance helped lead the Hurricanes to a 17-9 win over then-#19/#20 Virginia. But that was last year and Miami is leaving that in the past.

“We’re playing this game as if we’re coming off a three-game losing streak,” Diaz said. “No one’s records walk onto the field with them, it’s just Miami-Virginia — their guys and our guys — and the team that protects the football, scores in the red zone, tackles, all those things that you hear coaches talking about because it’s true, will determine the winner or loser.”

As the Hurricanes head into their fifth primetime contest in six games so far this season, they have enjoyed the fruits of their labor to a 4-1 record. But they are not getting complacent as they reach the midpoint of their schedule.

“As far as the season, I think it’s gone pretty good,” King said. “Obviously, we lost a game and that’s never good and we got a lot to improve on. Just looking forward to playing Virginia. It’s always a blessing just to have another game. Whatever happens in the past game, you watch the tape on Sundays and forget about it. Now it’s a new game, new opponent, it’s like starting all over again so that’s good.”

Mallory and the Canes are determined to stay the course, trust the process and continue moving forward toward their goals, but they know they must be focused on the present if they want to reach their ultimate goals.

“Coming off of the Clemson game and beating Pitt was huge for us in the momentum of this season,” Mallory said. “We’ve just got to keep that going this week and take that into the bye, and then we got to finish up strong with those last five games. Each week is a big week and this one’s just the next one.”