Malik Rosier says Miami Football playing with chip on shoulder
The three-game losing to end 2017 was disappointing for everyone with an interest in the Miami football program. No one more so than the players. Quarterback Malik Rosier told ESPN that Miami will be playing 2018 with a chip on their shoulder.
No one was more maligned at the end of last season than Rosier was. Throughout the offseason, Rosier’s stats in the final three Miami football games have been repeated. He had a 44.9 completion percentage, threw for just 500 yards with three touchdowns and five interceptions in the Hurricanes last three games.
Many of the Miami football players have said that they have unfinished business entering the 2018 season. The Hurricane players and coaching staff feel like they can get back to the ACC Championship game and make the College Football Playoff.
Miami Senior Safety Jaquan Johnson said one of the reasons he returned is to win a Championship. The Hurricanes can certainly reach the Playoff. Once you get there anything can happen. Just look at what Ohio State did in 2014.
The Hurricanes had some big accomplishments in 2017. They want to reach higher in 2018. Their 2017 accomplishments had either never been done by a Miami football team or it had been a long time.
Miami won the ACC Coastal and appeared in the ACC Championship game for the first time in program history. The 2017 Hurricanes also won ten games and appeared in a major bowl game for the first time since 2003. The 2003 Hurricanes won ten games and the 2004 Orange Bowl over Florida State.
Miami Head Coach expects more consistency out of Rosier. The way Rosier spoke to ESPN also showed his leadership ability.
"“Miami QB Malik Rosier: “What I’m most looking forward to is just getting back to the ACC championship game. I know last year didn’t end the way we wanted it to — even the bowl game, at that.Those are two big goals that we have, that our coaches and players still talk about. It’s something to where we’re playing with a chip on our shoulder. We’ve been there, we know what it feels like to play in the ACC championship game, but now we need to go there and actually win it.We can’t just be satisfied with winning the Coastal Division. I think that’s the biggest difference, and what I’m most excited about for this year.”"
Doubters and skeptics of the Hurricanes (particularly from rivals) seemed to think that the Hurricanes were awed by playing against Clemson in the ACC Championship game.
As Rosier said, now that they know what it feels like to play in the ACC Championship game, if the Miami football team can return to the ACC title game this year, they will be more mentally prepared. None of the Miami players and few of the staff had been in a conference championship game before.
Miami Head Coach Mark Richt appeared in multiple SEC Championship games while at Georgia. The Bulldogs won SEC titles under Richt in 2002 and 2005. The 2002 appearance was Richt and Georgia’s first in the SEC Championship game.
Hurricanes Offensive Coordinator Thomas Brown coached Wisconsin’s running backs when the Badgers played in the 2014 Big Ten Championship game. He played for Richt at Georgia. The Bulldogs reached the SEC Championship game in Brown’s Freshmen year in 2004.
Miami Hurricanes long-time play-by-play announcer Joe Zagacki said that the Hurricanes really missed Mark Walton’s leadership in the loss to Pittsburgh. A win in that game would have put Miami in the discussion to receive a bid to the College Football Playoff.
With Alabama being the last team to get into the field, the likelihood is that the Hurricanes would not have been invited. They still would have wound up in the Orange Bowl. This season Miami needs to avoid losses like the one to the Panthers in 2017.
Next: Miami's biggest ACC Coastal challenger facing player attrition
The way Rosier is talking, he, Johnso,n the other Seniors and team leaders of the Hurricanes have a better idea what to expect in 2018. The Miami football team seems to be more prepared for life as an elite team and program this season.