Miami Hurricanes Unable to Overcome Slow Start, Fall 20-13 to UNC
The Hurricanes fought hard in the second half. Miami went three and out on their first two drives of the of the third quarter. They then drove 61 yards on four plays in 1:15, capped by a two-yard Joseph Yearby touchdown run.
Brad Kaaya hit Ahmmon Richards for 30 yards on the first play of the drive and followed that up with a 26-yard completion to Tight End Chris Herndon to the UNC five yard line.
Yearby nearly added a second touchdown in the fourth quarter. On third and two from the UNC 48, Yearby ran 42 yards before being pushed out of bounds at the Tar Heel six. The ‘Canes had to settle for a 22 yard Badgley Field Goal to get within a touchdown.
The Hurricanes defense came up big continually in the fourth quarter. They stopped Trubisky on fourth and goal from the Miami one after a ten play 74-yard drive. They forced Carolina punts on the next two possessions and took over on their own 20 with 1:40 left in the fourth quarter still down seven.
Kaaya connected with Mark Walton for 11 yards for a first down on the first play of the drive. North Carolina’s Malik Carney had a strip sack on the next play and the ‘Heels Jeremiah Clarke recovered at the UM 16 and UNC ran out the clock.
Kaaya finished 16-31 for 224 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. His fumble was the only turnover of the night for either team.
Walton had 105 total yards but averaged just 3.4 yards per carry on the ground. Yearby finished with 78 total yards, including 74 yards rushing on ten carries. Forty-two of them came on the one carry.
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The Hurricanes got outstanding production from their tight ends. Herndon finished with 48 yards on two receptions and David Njoku had four catches for 82 yards. Richards continues to show his talents with 55 yards on two receptions.
UNC held UM leading receiver Stacy Coley to 13 yards on two receptions. The Hurricanes also struggled with multiple drops. Njoku and Richards had some key ones.
Trubisky finished with 299 yards passing and two touchdowns and also had 47 rushing yards.Bug Howard led the Tar Heels with ten catches for 156 yards. Switzer finished with nine catches, but for only 17 yards.
Asked about any adjustments the coaching staff made a halftime, Miami Safety Rayshawn Jenkins said: “There weren’t really any adjustments at halftime, we just knew….were missing tackles in the first half. We had to come out and just play the best football of our lives if we wanted to come back and have a chance…”
Jenkins, Senior Cornerback Corn Elder, and Freshman linebacker Shaq Quarterman had outstanding games. Jenkins finished with 14 tackles, including one tackle for loss and Quarterman had arguably the best game of his young Miami career with 11 tackles and one TFL.
Elder is a strong candidate for the ACC Defensive Player of the Week. He finished with 14 tackles, one sack and 2.5 TFL’s. Jenkins, Elder, and Quarterman are now the U’s top three tacklers after today’s stellar effort.
The Hurricanes offense had been strong before the back to back losses, but it’s the defense that had truly been the reason for the ‘Canes 4-0 start. If the offense doesn’t get on track on then this season could quickly resemble the strong starts and disappointing finishes of the Al Golden era.
Next: Miami Hurricanes Five Keys to Victory Against North Carolina
Miami has a quick turnaround when they go to Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech on Thursday. The Hurricanes suffered some significant injuries. Defensive Linemen Chad Thomas and Demetrius Jackson left and did not return. UM had to dip below its two-deep depth chart to get healthy players on the field.