The Miami Hurricanes went into Lane Stadium last Thursday night in front of 64,000 fans in what was the first of many crucial ACC Coastal match-ups for the Canes. The Canes silenced the crowd and came away with a 30-6 win in a game that was never close at all.
Let’s check out how each position performed:
Quarterback
The freshman Brad Kaaya wasn’t counted on much this game as he finished 7 of 16 for 92 yards and a touchdown. The stats don’t show much, however, he managed the game well and took care of the football. There were several plays in which he showed his maturity by throwing the ball away instead of turning it over.
In what was one of my favorite plays of the game, Kaaya completed an extremely difficult pass to Duke Johnson on 3rd and 8 with Virginia Tech linebacker Deon Clarke coming at him full speed. I know you’ll probably want to watch that play again and again.
Grade: A-
Running Back
I had a feeling that this game would turn into the ‘Duke Johnson Show’, I had even mentioned it in the CanesWarning roundtable discussion. Thankfully, this was the case as Duke gained a career-high 249 yards on 29 carries (8.6 yd/avg) with a touchdown while also catching 2 passes for 37 yards and adding another touchdown. The man could simply not be stopped!
Gus Edwards also had a phenominal game and rushed for 117 yards on 20 carries while finding the endzone twice. The effort that ‘Gus the Bus’ showed while carrying the rock was nothing short of remarkable. He also made a beautiful catch for a 25 yard gain in which he looked like a wide receiver.
I can’t say enough good things about the running backs this game…
Grade: A+
Wide Receiver/Tight End
With Brad Kaaya having a quiet night, the receivers and tight ends had a quiet night as well. Phillip Dorsett led the group with 2 catches for 15 yards while Stacy Coley and Malcolm Lewis each had a single catch. Tight end Clive Walford did not have a catch this game. In one particular play it looked as if Phillip Dorsett could have gone the distance if he had caught a pass from Kaaya deep in Miami territory but it seemed as if Dorsett had lost the location of the ball at some point. Definite bummer!
It’s hard to grade this position group with such a low amount of targets…
Grade: C
Offensive Line
What an amazing performance from the offensive line. This unit has really stepped up with injuries to Taylor Gadbois and Kc McDermott. True freshman Nick Linder has definitely overachieved and has shown that he has great potential.
When the team rushes for 364 total yards and gives up no sacks, the O-Line deserves a ton of credit…
Grade: A+
Defensive Line
The defensive line had a quiet night but did a decent job as Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Brewer never seemed very comfortable throughout the night. Ufomba Kamalu led the way with 5 tackles and a QB hurry, Tyriq McCord had 3 tackles, Olsen Pierre had 3 tackles and a half tackle for loss, and Anthony Chickillo played well, finishing with 2 tackles, a sack and a pass breakup. Some of the newcomers on the D-Line got some burn as Trent Harris and Calvin Heurtelou both had 2 tackles, while Michael Wyche had a tackle and Courtel Jenkins had a QB hurry.
Grade: C+
Linebackers
Wow, this was an aggressive group! The linebackers were all over the field and did a fairly good job containing 5’11 230 lb running back Marshawn Williams, limiting him to 100 yards rushing (41 of those yards on 1 run). Denzel Perryman led the way with 11 tackles, 1 forced fumble and 1 pass breakup. Jermaine Grace showed why he is the future and had 4 tackles, a sack and 2 fumble recoveries. Raphael Kirby also had a solid night and ended with 4 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss. Lastly, Thurston Armbrister had 3 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.
Again, I loved the aggressiveness from this linebacking core. Let’s see it continue!
Grade: B+
Defensive Backs
The defensive backs played extremely well, while only allowing 142 passing yards, the only negative was that Tracy Howard gave up the lone touchdown with 1:30 left in the game that helped the Hokies avoid the shutout. Overall, it’s tough to complain when Virginia Tech’s receivers were held in check all night. Heck, the longest pass given up was only 23 yards. The defensive backs and safeties were great in run support and even forced some fumbles. Nantambu-Akil Fentress led the way with 9 tackles, Tracy Howard had 4 tackles and a forced fumble, and Deon Bush had a busy night with 4 tackles, a tackle for a loss, 1 forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Jamal Carter, Artie Burns, Dallas Crawford, Corn Elder, Antonio Crawford and Ladarius Gunter all combined for 9 tackles.
All that was missing was an interception, but then again, I may just be greedy…
Grade: B+
Special Teams
The main problem continues to be kickoff coverage and kickoff/punt return coverage. The Canes special teams gave up a 58 yard return to begin the second half which was frustrating. On kickoff/punt returns Stacy Coley didn’t have much room to breakout a return for a touchdown or even a long gain.
Punter Justin Vogel continues to be a bright spot on special teams. Don’t be fooled by his 39 yard punt average this game because it’s deceiving, as he pinned 3 of his 5 punts inside the 20 yard line. Unreal!
Kicker Michael Badgley made his only field goal attempt from 28 yards out. Badgley has done well in place of the injured Matt Goudis.
Vogel bails out the special teams…
Grade: C+
Coaching
I personally thought this was the best coached game the Canes have had so far this season.
Coach Coley did an excellent job exposing Virginia Tech’s weaknesses on defense (run defense). He also implemented the wildcat into the playbook which will give future opponents something to think about when gameplanning against the Canes. He also has finally realized how deadly Duke Johnson is catching the ball out of the backfield. Lastly, can you believe the Canes were 7 of 15 (46.7%) on 3rd downs? Will this start an upward trend of 3rd down conversions? Let’s hope so!
My only knock on the offense was not being able to take advantage of any of the turnovers by Virginia Tech. The Canes could’ve really blown the game wide-open!
I know it is tough for Canes fans to do but you have to give Coach D’Onofrio credit for the way his defense played against the Hokies. They played aggressive and forced 3 fumbles, recovering all 3. The key now is to show some consistancy on defense. The Hokies aren’t exactly an offensive juggernaut and the Canes will be tested much more as the season moves along. The success on defense, even if for one game, should be celebrated. Enjoy!
Coach Golden’s staff called and planned a great game. The ACC Coastal is still there for the taking. Hopefully this team can start firing on all cylinders while heading into a crucial part of the schedule.
Grade: A