The Miami Hurricanes are 3-0 and won their second ACC road game of the season, holding off Wake Forest, 33-20. There was a lot of good and bad in this game, most of it coming from the same side of the ball — the offense. Darian Mensah was nearly perfect for about three quarters, but injuries to Malachi Toney and Mark Fletcher forced the Hurricanes to get very conservative.
But this is where the defense stepped in. Was the defense perfect? Far from it. The unit gave up over 300 passing yards to Gio Lopez. But the defense was active, which wasn't as much the case in the first two weeks. There was a lot of pressure on the quarterback and it came from all levels. Overall, the good news is that Miami is 3-0 and done with non-Saturday games, but there is a lot of work to be done.
With that said, here are the winners and losers from Week 3's win over Wake Forest:
Winner: The first-half offense was electric
Mensah completed all 20 passes while Fletcher and Char'Mar Brown had some nice runs as the Hurricanes racked up big yards and 24 points. When Miami's offense is humming, we see what the potential is. Wake Forest was a bump up in quality for an opponent — the Demon Deacons won nine games last year. But for the first 30 minutes, the Hurricanes were as good as any team in the country on offense.
Winner: The pass rush was creative and came to play
Corey Hetherman emphasized getting pressure on Wake Forest quarterback Gio Lopez and did it through a number of different alignments and using the secondary in the nickel packages. Omar Thornton was a beast and has proven to be a player that can offer many options. JJ Dunnigan got in there on a few safety blitzes.
The defensive line, most notably Marquise Lightfoot and Armondo Blount, showed the jump that we've been waiting to see from them this year. Wake Forest's offensive line was under the gun for most of the game and especially in the second half, where the pass rush forced a holding call in the end zone and a safety. Miami had three sacks and nine quarterback hurries.
Winner: The defense finally forced a turnover
The Hurricanes' defense wasn't perfect, but they were aggressive and fiery in the second half, and it paid off with some fourth-down starts, the safety we already mentioned and Ethan O'Connor's interception that put the game away. With the offense going stagnant in the second half, the defense needed to make plays and they did so. It was a sweet moment for O'Connor, who dealt with a long offseason and was pushed into a bigger role after some injuries.
Loser: The offense in the second half was atrocious
Obviously, some injuries forced Shannon Dawson's hand, but what was that? The offense was basically sideline passes and dives into the middle of the lineup. Yes, Malachi Toney was injured. Mark Fletcher was injured, and it looks like Brown might be done for a while. Still, there was no attempt to get some of these other playmakers down the field. And the fact that the Hurricanes couldn't simply line up and run the ball was pretty surprising and frustrating.
“We weren’t as efficient on first and second down and that put us in third-and-long," Mensah said in the postgame press conference. "I've got to be better.”
Loser: Someone has to step up to help Malachi Toney
These wide receivers were supposed to be one of the best units in the country and Toney is playing at an All-American level. But where's everyone else? Cooper Barkate had four catches for 13 yards. Joshua Moore had a nice touchdown, but three catches for 16 yards isn't scaring anyone.
The second-best receiver in the game was tight end Elija Lofton, who had a 21-yard touchdown and five catches for 39 yards. Once Toney left the game and Wake Forest didn't have to respect the passing game as much, the Demon Deacons smothered the wide receivers.
Loser: These injuries are mounting up early
The Brown injury looks serious, and it's a crushing blow because he fills in so many blanks for this offense. Brown is a running back that excels at pass protection, catches passes, provides tough running and is incredibly reliable in the clutch. Thankfully, Toney's injury didn't look serious, but it's concerning because he's taken on so much of the passing game and no other receiver is stepping up as a second option.
Ahmad Moten went down early, but he was able to return and that was a good thing because he swallowed out interior blockers that freed up the guys on the edge to get to the quarterback. The defense is already down two starters in the secondary and can't afford another.
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