Miami failure to execute on defense against UNC should have Mario Cristobal very concerned

Mario Cristobal always says the Miami Hurricanes need to get better and that was especially evident on defense after they survived a major scare from the North Carolina Tar Heels in Chapel Hill.

At the end of the day, the Hurricanes made the plays when they needed to and earned a 38-35 win, the first one over the Tar Heels in the past six tries. But the defense fell short in a ton of ways, namely coverage busts and one-on-one tackling.

The missed tackles out on the perimeter turned what should have been short gains into moderate gains and potential long-yard situations into more manageable downs.

Those mistakes allowed North Carolina to limit Miami's possessions on offense. The Hurricanes were very efficient on offense, scoring on six of seven drives and Marquise Lightfoot made the big play on defense, forcing Billy Edwards Jr. into a fumble — the only turnover in the game — and the offense immediately cashed in with a touchdown to go up, 38-28.

Miami's defense is cause for concern heading into Notre Dame

Outside the Lightfoot play, Edwards looked like a superstar. He attacked Miami's soft coverage time and time again for gains. The Tar Heels did not hit much over the top, but they were consistent in moving the chains and went 8-for-11 on third downs.

Some of those coverage issues could be mitigated with better tackling at all levels. Even though the Hurricanes sacked Edwards four times, they had him dead to rights at least a half dozen times and could not finish.

One of the big misses was when Ahmad Moten Sr. had a clear shot at Edwards, but the quarterback avoided him, climbed the pocket and connected with Jelani Thurman for a touchdown. 

"There were guys winning. We've just got to close on the quarterbacks," Cristobal said on The Joe Rose Show. "If you do win, you've got to finish on the quarterback and all these quarterbacks can move. They're all athletic, and you can't spend your entire existence trying to spy on the quarterback because that's one less man in coverage."

The failure to tackle and finish on the successful pass rush wins is probably more concerning than the close game. If the Miami defense plays better assignment football, it is likely the game is not nearly as close, but as Cristobal wisely points out, conference road games can be very tough.

North Carolina has enough talent to make things difficult for anyone and are just a few plays from being 6-2 instead of 4-4.

"The world's got to wake up and stop subscribing to [the thought] that teams are supposed to blow people out all the time. It doesn't work that way," Cristobal added.

Miami comes into Notre Dame with a clear idea of what it needs to do better on Saturday in South Bend. CJ Carr and the Irish offense will be an even bigger of a challenge on the road, but it is one that can be neutralized with better effort in the fundamentals. 

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