Miami football and Virginia Tech facing similar issues ahead of matchup

The rhetoric coming from the Virginia Tech and Miami football programs have been similar after both teams have had disappointing starts to the 2019 season.

Both the Virginia Tech and Miami football programs have started the 2019 season 2-2.  Miami is coming off of a 17-12 victory over Central Michigan. Miami football head coach Manny Diaz said it was a game that his team did not show enough competitiveness and were humbled.

Virginia Tech lost 45-10 at home to Duke on Friday night. Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente who many college football analysts say is on the hot seat stated similarly to Diaz that his team was not ready against Duke on Friday night.

The Hokies loss to the Blue Devils was their worst at home since 1974. Virginia Tech finished the 1974 season 4-7 and had a 49-12 loss to Houston at Lane Stadium. Virginia Tech struggled in their two wins this season in games they should have dominated.

The Hokies had trouble with Old Dominion for the second straight season. Virginia Tech defeated the Monarchs 31-17 after losing to them in Blacksburg in 2018. Virginia Tech defeated FCS Furman 24-17 a week later.

In two ACC Games, Virginia Tech has been outscored 80-38. It is the first time that the Hokies have lost their first two ACC games in a season. The last time Virginia Tech started 0-2 in conference play was with losses at West Virginia and William and Mary in the Southern Conference in 1957.

Fuente spoke to reporters after Virginia Tech’s loss on Friday night about what happened in the blowout loss to Duke. The Hokies fourth-year head coach took responsibility for the loss and stated that they have to find a way to get more out of their offense, defense and special teams. That will be a tough task on the road.

"“Obviously, we are not ready and not at the point where we can compete and play and have a chance to win against that team we played tonight…That’s my responsibility and my fault. I do believe in our group and we’ve got to, I’ve got to, find a way to get more out of them in all three phases of the game.”"

Duke owned the Hokies no matter how you look at it. The Blue Devils outgained the Hokies 422-269. Duke dominated the line of scrimmage. The Blue Devils ran for 259 yards on a Virginia Tech defense allowing 189 rushing yards per game to rank 104th in FBS. Miami is 86th averaging 143.5 rushing yards per game.

The Miami offensive line needs to be able to dominate what has been a weak Virginia Tech defense on Saturday. The Hurricanes have had one of the worst offensive lines in the country in 2019. Miami is 128th out of 130 FBS teams allowing 4.5 sacks per game. The Hurricanes are 127th with a 33.7 percent stuff rate.

The stuff rate is the amount of running plays that go for zero to one yard. Miami’s stuff rate is concerning. The Hurricanes have too much talent at running back with DeeJay Dallas and Cam’Ron Harris for that to continue this season. Dallas is 40th in the nation averaging 85.75 rushing yards per game.

Dallas was exceptional in Miami’s first three games. The junior running back ran for 310 yards and four touchdowns. In the win over Central Michigan Dallas had 34 yards on 14 carries and one TD. He added one reception for 19 yards. Miami has to come out and be the aggressor against Virginia Tech and get the crowd in the game.