Speaking to reporters on Monday, Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson gave a defensive response when replying to a question about the Hurricanes frequently running up the middle. Dawson responded to reporters that they can keep asking about it, but he is not going to change what Miami is doing.
Dawson questioned the context of Miami running up the middle and gave an elongated response that, as a shotgun team, Miami is going to use an A or B gap run 90 percent of the time. "I'll run option with Carson. That's smart. Genius. Toss" was a sarcastic response by Dawson about Miami being questioned running it up the middle.
Miami was booed late in the first half against Stanford on Saturday. The Hurricanes had 20 plays for 95 yards on their first three drives and trailed 7-0 until a Mark Fletcher touchdown run with 1:15 left in the first half tied the game at seven. The scoring drive to tie the game was 15 plays, 71 yards in 7:26.
Miami ran eight times for 42 yards on the game-tying drive. On the first three drives against Stanford, Miami ran 11 times for 27 yards. The final drive of the first half, Miami asserted its dominance on the offensive line and carried that into the second half.
Shannon Dawson asked the media how they would want him to get the ball to the outside with the running back. pic.twitter.com/hAA1Tu3imb
— Grant Speaks (@GrantSpeaks1) October 27, 2025
"When you say running up the middle...you do understand that when you're in the shotgun and even when you hand outside zone, it's going to be a B gap run or A gap run like 90 something percent of the time...the amount of times the ball gets outside the tackle when you're a shotgun team...is not very high...But where does the ball go? It probably goes B gap or A gap. Why? Well, the ball's getting handed here..I don't understand the infatuation of how do you want me to get the ball outside."Miami OC Shannon Dawson
Miami ran 11 times for 64 yards in the third quarter and outscored Stanford 21-0 to take a 28-7 lead entering the fourth quarter. The dominance on the ground continued in the fourth quarter as Miami ran 14 times for 66 yards, scored twice more and added two TDs to the 42-7 final score.
Miami is 69th nationally, averaging 154.43 rushing yards per game and 71st, posting 4.31 yards per carry. In three ACC games, Miami is 10th in the conference, averaging 119.67 rushing YPG and 11th with 3.59 YPC. Those numbers have to improve, or opposing defenses will make Miami quarterback Carson Beck beat them.
In a win at Florida State and a loss to Louisville in its first two 2025 ACC Games, Miami combined for 160 rushing yards on 56 carries for 2.86 YPC and two TDs, both versus Louisville. Complaints about the lack of offensive play calling by Dawson were rampant on social media on Saturday night during the game.