Miami football loses in bizarre way to Georgia Tech
Three missed field goals, touchdowns allowed on special teams and offense and a fourth-down play in overtime that came up short of a first down and the Miami football team suffered another inexcusable loss, this time to Georgia Tech.
What more can be said after the Miami football team lost for the second time in three weeks at home as a double-digit favorite? The Hurricanes allowed touchdowns on offense and special teams and missed three field goals and lost 28-21 at Georgia Tech at Hard Rock Stadium. It’s an inexcusable loss to a poor team.
The game came down to a fourth-quarter stop by Georgia Tech in overtime. The Yellow Jackets stopped Miami tight end Brevin Jordan a few inches short of the first down after a three-yard gain in overtime. A review of the spot where Jordan showed the sophomore was down and Georgia Tech had the upset.
There is so much to be said after losing a game that the Miami football team should have dominated. It is tough to determine what Miami does next. This is not the NFL and they cannot pick up a kicker. Some fans suggested firing Dan Enos. That is not going to happen. He is widely praised as a QB coach.
The playing calling by Enos definitely was questionable on Saturday. The running game was working. Twice Enos called end around or fly sweeps by wide receivers in the second half. Miami lost DeeJay Dallas in the first half with a knee injury, but Cam Harris played exceptional replacing him.
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Harris ran for 136 yards on 18 carries without any negative runs. He added 31 yards on three receptions. Dallas had three carries for 14 yards before being injured. Wide receivers Mike Harley added one carry for a loss of one yard and K.J. Osborn had two for four. Miami should have been able to dominate Georgia Tech on the ground.
Georgia Tech entered Saturday’s game against the Miami football team 127th in FBS against the run. The Yellow Jackets allowed an average of 237.67 rushing yards per game in their first six contests of 2019. Miami ran for 157 yards on 32 carries. The Hurricanes had 31 pass attempts in an attempt for offensive balance.
The three missed field goals were critical. Miami was let down by their kicking game for the third time this season. Turner Davidson missed two field goals that any FBS kicker should make. Bubba Baxa missed a makeable attempt in between Davidson’s misses. Davidson missed from 34 and 25 yards and Baxa from 27.
Misses from each of those distances are inexcusable. So was the Miami defense against the Georgia Tech rushing offense. Converting from the triple option to a more traditional offense you expect the Yellow Jackets are still going to run the ball. The Hurricanes simply had to do a better job stopping the run.
Georgia Tech ran for 207 yards on 45 carries for an average of 4.6 YPC. The Miami defense continued to struggle to get off the field. Georgia Tech was 6-14 on third down and 2-2 on fourth. Miami was 56th nationally in third-down defense after last week’s victory over Virginia. The Hurricanes were at 36.36 percent.
Miami has been worse stopping fourth down. The Hurricanes are 129th in FBS allowing teams to convert on nine of 10 fourth downs this season. There is a lot more left to analyze. Miami will prepare for a trip to Pittsburgh next Saturday. The Panthers ended Miami’s 15 game winning streak there two years ago.