The third-down issues were mostly due to Williams either getting sacked on second down or the offense committing penalties to lengthen distance either on first and second down. Against North Carolina, this distance was not that big of an issue, but third and three is always better than third and eight.
Especially in the first quarter, Miami struggled to get their offense into third and short. When they did, the playcalling included running the ball behind an offensive line that struggled to open holes in these situations with stacked boxes. Even against Bethune-Cookman, Miami was unable to convert 50 percent of their third downs.
Manny Diaz said Brevin Jordan practiced Sunday. Two guys to worry about are Romeo Finley and Mark Pope. He’s hoping to know more tomorrow.
— Manny Navarro (@Manny_Navarro) September 16, 2019
It either included negative plays due to penalties, inability to shorten distance on second down or poor run blocking. Because of the struggles on third down, the Miami football team has not been able to finish drives with touchdowns. Against North Carolina, Miami had six drives in the first half.
Out of these six drives, Miami was in the RedZone three times and only managed to score one touchdown, despite being two and nine yards away from the endzone. Miami has big receivers like Jeremiah Payton, Jordan and Brian Hightower. Mallory had a beautiful toe dragging touchdown.
Mark Richt used to bully defensive backs by sending Darrell Langham and Lawrence Cager on fades to use their advantage in length. In short, the Miami football team should get their big guys out in the RedZone and let the big targets do their work.