Josh Gattis named national coordinator of the week to watch

After inconsistent offensive performances in the last three games, Josh Gattis has been named the coordinator to watch by On3 this weekend. Miami hosts a generous North Carolina defense on Saturday. After a 70-13 win in the season opener over Bethune-Cookman, Miami has only scored 70 in the last three games.

North Carolina is 112th nationally allowing 33.6 points per game. The Tar Heels had their best game defensively in a 41-10 win over Virginia Tech last week to improve to 4-1. North Carolina is also 120th allowing 450.8 yards per game. North Carolina allowed a season-low 273 yards and 3.9 yards per play versus Virginia Tech.

Miami is 38th nationally averaging 35 PPG. The Hurricanes are 90th averaging 23.3 PPG versus FBS opponents. Miami needs a strong performance offensively to gain confidence. The Hurricanes particularly need to be more efficient in red zone scoring. Miami is 72nd scoring points on 82.61 percent of its red zone possessions.

Part of that was falling behind against Middle Tennessee State. Miami is 77th nationally with TDs on 60.77 percent of its red zone trips. With North Carolina prolific offensively, Miami cannot afford to settle for field goals in the red zone versus the Tar Heels. Josh Gattis was quoted by On3 discussing what needs to happen versus UNC.

"“We’ve got to up our level…We’ve got to come together. We’ve got to find out what our players to do best. We’ve got to do that…That’s got to show up on Saturdays. I think that’s a very key, important piece in the development phase.It’s just making sure that we’re able to go out there and execute things the way they should be on Saturday. That’s on us as coaches. We’ve got to do a great job of developing these guys and instilling confidence and allowing those guys to go out there and play confident.”"

Jesse Simonton of On3 called the Miami game versus North Carolina an important one for Josh Gattis. The regression of quarterback Tyler Van Dyke has routinely been questioned by local and national college football analysts this season. Van Dyke has struggled in the past three Miami football games.

Miami has not had the explosive offense it had in 2021. The Hurricanes are 114th nationally with only 15 plays of 20 or more yards. Miami has been able to move the ball through the air but ranks 111th nationally with four TD passes. Miami needs far better numbers versus North Carolina.

North Carolina is 116th allowing 28 plays of 20 yards or more this season. The Tar Heels are 102nd nationally allowing 257.8 passing yards per game. North Carolina is 103rd allowing 5.96 yards per play. The Tar Heels have also struggled defensively on third down and against the run plus doesn’t force a lot of turnovers.

Miami needs to show it can take advantage of what has been for most of the 2022 season a poor defense. North Carolina had success defensively last week versus a very poor Virginia Tech offense. Gattis needs to call a more progressive game against North Carolina or it will be difficult for Miami to keep up offensively.