Where The Miami Hurricanes Need To Improve Against Nebraska
The Miami Hurricanes are coming off of a blowout win against Arkansas State last Saturday, but still have plenty of things to clean up as they head into Lincoln for a primetime showdown against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Miami has looked consistently better each week this season and will need to continue that upward trend if they want to beat Nebraska. The Canes appear to be solid at many spots, but need improvement from their corners, offensive line, offensive play-calling, and special teams.
The cornerback position was believed by many to be one of the strengths of this defense heading into the season. Instead, the cornerbacks have been arguably the weakest spot on the defensive side of the ball. Antonio Crawford has played well, but the rest of the corners, especially Tracy Howard, have been underwhelming thus far. About 80% of FAMU’s 114 yards of offense against Miami and over 70% of Ark. St.’s total yards of offense against Miami came through the passing game. The Canes’ corners had good position on nearly every deep completion, but failed to make a play on the ball. The only interception that the Canes have this year is by linebacker Raphael Kirby, who intercepted a fake punt attempt by Arkansas State. Although Nebraska’s quarterback isn’t one of the better passing QBs in college football, Miami’s cornerbacks will have to step up and make plays against the wide receivers of Nebraska.
On the other side of the ball, Miami’s weakness has been in the trenches. The offensive line has been a huge liability for the Canes’ offense through the first three games. Taylor Gadbois has really struggled at right tackle, which has led to true freshman Kc McDermott seeing an increase in playing time. McDermott has played pretty well and may get a significantly larger amount of playing time if Gadbois continues to have trouble early against Nebraska. Even Miami’s best offensive lineman, Ereck Flowers, needs to get it together after getting called for multiple penalties against Arkansas State. A big key to this game will be the offensive line’s ability to keep Kaaya clean. They will need to improve on last weeks showing to handle Randy Gregory and the rest of the Nebraska pass rushers.
Over the past 3-4 years, most of the heat has been on the Canes’ defensive coordinator, but the tables have quickly turned. James Coley, Miami’s offensive coordinator, has left much to be desired with his play calling. Coley was far to conservative in the opener vs. Louisville and held the Canes’ offense back. Brad Kaaya really thrived against Arkansas State when Coley let him sling it around. The offense looked very good early on in week 3, scoring 20 points in the first 12 minutes of game time before coach Coley began to throw in all sorts of poorly executed, negative yardage trick plays. One thing Coach Coley has worked into his offensive game plan that has been very successful is an abundance of wheel-routes. The Canes have had great success in all three games so far hitting Duke Johnson and Clive Walford on deep wheel routes. If the Canes’ offense wants to be at its best this Saturday against Nebraska, James Coley will have to call a good game.
Special Teams has been a big issue for the Canes, specifically in the kick coverage department. The Canes gave up a long, momentum shifting kick return for a touchdown against Louisville and have given up many long returns even against weaker competition. Out of 128 FBS teams, the Canes rank 118th in average yards allowed per kick return(24.9 yards per return). Al Golden coaches the Canes’ special teams and has recognized the poor performance. Earlier this week, Golden said that more veteran players would be placed on kick coverage to help out. Hopefully Justin Vogel, the Canes’ kicker, won’t have to attempt more touchdown saving tackles this Saturday night against the Cornhuskers.
As Al Golden would say, this team has been trending upwards throughout the first three weeks. The Canes will need to continue to improve this Saturday if they want to leave Lincoln with a win. Miami has not done well in big games lately and the fans are becoming increasingly frustrated. A big win Saturday night against Nebraska would really increase fan support of the team and Coach Golden.