Miami football done in by minus four turnover margin in loss to Michigan State
The Miami football team had a negative four margin in turnovers in a 38-17 loss to Michigan State on Saturday. Throw in dropped passes and a missed field goal in the first half and the Spartans made the plays they needed to win and the Hurricanes did not in a disheartening loss at Hard Rock Stadium.
Michigan State quarterback Payton Thorne was 18-31 for 261 yards and four touchdowns and Kenneth Walker III ran 27 times for 172 yards as the Spartans pulled away in the fourth quarter. Michigan State outscored the Miami football team 21-3 in the fourth quarter with the last two TDs in the final four minutes.
Miami made too many mistakes. The four turnovers without forcing any, nine penalties for 78 yards and Michigan State scoring on all five red-zone trips to the Hurricanes only scoring once on three trips inside the 20 were too much to overcome. The final four minutes were a disaster as Michigan State turned it into a blowout.
D’Eriq King finished 38-59 for 388 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions and two lost fumbles. Everything that could go wrong in the fourth quarter did. The Hurricanes entered the fourth trailing 17-14 and lost 38-17. Miami will host Central Connecticut State next week in a game that can be fools gold.
The Blue Devils are an FCS team that the Miami football team should handle easily. Charleston Rambo did set a Miami single-game reception record with 12 for 156 yards and two touchdowns. All of those numbers came in the first three quarters. Miami was unable to maintain any balance offensively.
The Hurricanes ran 24 times for 52 yards. Running back Cam’Ron Harris ran 11 times for 44 yards. Bubba Bolden led the Miami defense with 10 tackles, linebacker Corey Flagg had eight tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack and Waymon Steed earned the Miami defensive player of the game with eight tackles, two TFLs and one sack.
If this holds, this will drop Manny Diaz to 15-12, with 4 losses in last 5. He's tried everything - two OCs, a turnover chain, doubling as d-coordinator, not doubling as d-coordinator, changing DB and DL and WR coaches, TD rings, a Martell,and alas, not nearly enough has worked.
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) September 18, 2021
The fourth-quarter field goal by Andres Borregales was from 55-yards and cut the Michigan State lead to 24-17. It appeared that Miami gained some momentum with that boot. A 39-yard TD pass from Thorne to Jalen Nailor less than four minutes later put the game away before the final TD by Jayden Reed.
Miami simply has to get better. Three very uneven games leave Miami at 1-2 before hosting Central Connecticut State next week. The Hurricanes frequently had too many untimely dropped passes on Saturday. That included one in the end zone by tight end Will Mallory that would have put Miami up 14-3.
Miami loses OL Jalen Rivers for game. dark. Next
Four of the six Michigan State scoring drives were at least 73 yards. Miami lost in nearly every aspect of the game. The final four minutes made the score look much worse than it looked, but Miami was never in control. Michigan State outgained Miami 454-440. Miami is 1-2 for the second time in three years.