Manny Diaz more concerned taking opponents seriously than post bye week losses
During his weekly appearance on the Joe Rose Show on Monday morning, Miami Hurricanes head coach Manny Diaz stated he is more concerned with his team taking opponents seriously than how they play after a bye.
There has been a lot of concern about the eight straight games the Miami football team has lost following a bye week. During an appearance on the Joe Rose Show on Monday, head coach Manny Diaz stated he is more concerned about his team taking opponents more seriously than Miami not taking opponents more seriously.
In 2020, Miami has taken care of business. The Hurricanes have wins over UAB, Louisville, Florida State, Pittsburgh and Virginia and a loss to Clemson. Miami has defeated the teams they were expected to and lost to Clemson in a game very few to no one expected them to win. That has not always been the case.
In 2019 Miami historically lost three games that they were favored by double digits. The Hurricanes lost games to Duke, Florida International and Louisiana Tech last season. Miami needs to continue to respect its 2020 opponents to stay in contention for a berth in the ACC Championship game.
Miami at the very least cannot afford more than one more loss the remainder of the season and might have to run the table to have a chance to play in the ACC Championship Game. The Hurricanes are currently third in the conference behind Clemson and Notre Dame who are both undefeated.
"“We don’t run from the bye thing we are aware of that….we have struggled more playing against teams we have not respected whether that was after a bye or not after a bye.I think that’s what we have spent the majority of the time this year playing every week with the utmost respect for our opponents and present ourselves as the best version of Miami and that has served us well so far.”"
Miami plays at North Carolina State on Friday night. The Wolfpack have exceeded expectations this season in a 4-2 start. NC State lost starting quarterback Devin Leary with a broken fibula in the Wolfpack’s win over Duke last month. Former Florida State QB Bailey Hockman is the likely starter for NC State.
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Miami will be playing its second game in three weeks against a team starting a backup QB. The Hurricanes defeated Pittsburgh three weeks ago when Joey Yellen started in place of multi-year starter Kenny Pickett in a 31-19 win. Miami has to maintain the same attitude in Raleigh Friday night.