The Miami Hurricanes remained victorious in a 47-34 victory over the Louisville Cardinal that featured a plethora of explosive plays.
Rhett Lashlee and the Hurricanes offense were able to find several soft spots throughout the Cardinal defense and total 485 yards on offense. Miami’s defense held the Cardinal offense to only six points in the first half while causing three turnovers on the night.
With that said, here are my good and bad takeaways from UM’s primetime victory.
The Good:
D’Eriq King
King proved his ability to be a complete quarterback at the Power 5 level and didn’t have to depend his legs much to lead the offense to it’s second win. He made several tough passes including a tight back shoulder throw to tight end Will Mallory for a touchdown.
He totaled 325 passing yards and three touchdowns with a 60 percent completion percentage that was heavily effected by four crucial wide receiver drops. His ability to completely open up the field for the rest of the skill players is invaluable.
In my most recent breakdown of the Louisville defense, I stated that if there was a game to get Miami’s Tight Ends involved this was the one. And the Hurricanes did just that.
Brevin Jordan finished with seven receptions for 120 yards and a touchdown. He had several athletic plays and has proven statistically to be Miami’s best yards after reception receiver since Ahmmon Richards.
Mallory finished with one lone reception for 17 yards which resulted in Miami’s first score of the night.
Jose Borregales
The FIU transfer impressed with a stellar night kicking the ball. He accounted for 17 of Miami’s 47 points, as he went 5-for-5 on extra points and 4-for-4 on FG’s. Of his four field goals included a 57-yarder that tied the UM school record.
Borregales was also a touchback machine, sending six kickoffs to the back of the endzone.
Al Blades
Blades allowed a few passes due to the scheme but didn’t get beat over the top while defending a vertical attacking offense. Al continues to impress in man coverage despite giving up some routes underneath.
He was the first to breakout the Turnover Chain with an interception while in man by reading Cunningham’s eyes and jumping the route. He almost had a second one late in the game on a deep pass that ended up being a breakup.
Bubba Bolden
Bolden had a lights out outing, making several open field stops and one on a crucial third down. He finished the night with 11 tackles and a forced fumble right before the end of the half. The Cardinals were 0-of-6 on third downs in the first half, and Bolden’s play was a big part of this accomplishment.
Defensive Line
The defensive line continues to show why they are the best unit on the field. Nesta Silvera was in the backfield all night and penetrated the inside several times in passing & run situations. And Quincy Roche and Jaelan Phillips set the edge on Saturday.
Not a big stat night from Phillips but he consistently gets in the backfield and redirects running lanes with ease. Cam Williams jumped off the screen when he was on the field and helped create havoc with a versatile Jared Harrison-Hunte.
The Bad
Penalties
Penalties hurt the Hurricanes all night, as they recorded 11 penalties for 89 yards on mostly mental errors and a few aggressive plays. These cost Miami chunks of yards at a time and put UL in position to score easier points.
Without a preseason or much camp, mental lapses are expected. As the season goes along, look for these to be cleaned up by coaches and players.
Tackling
Louisville running back Javian Hawkins was able to shed several tackles and gash the Hurricanes defense on several runs throughout the night. This was mostly due to bad angles and poor tackling attempts from the linebackers and defensive backs.
The front seven pushed their offensive line back several times to disrupt the play but Hawkins was able to get loose several times and finish with 164 yards rushing. The Hurricanes will face better rushing attacks as the season progresses and should work to improve this if they want to continue to stay in the spotlight.
Wide receiver
Drops plagued Miami in crucial situations. One a very crucial 3rd down on the goal line by Mike Harley that was a sure touchdown. And Mark Pope also had several drops where focus seemed to be key.
Pope did finish the game with 64 yards and King still looked to him despite prior drops. The team has yet to have a guy separate themselves as the clear number one receiver. If UM wants to remain dynamic on offense, the WR play has to improve tenfold.
Overview
King stated post game that coach Lashlee did a great job of scheming this week. And that was apparent as the protection was able to hold up well while the offenses misdirection caused Lousville to give up several big plays. That Includes a 75-yard reception by Jaylan Knighton & 75-yard rush by Cam Harris that came on back to back drives.
With the offense seemingly getting better and more explosive week to week, it’s up to the defense and under performing players to improve for the team in order to remain steadfast in their hopes of an ACC Championship.
They’ll have two weeks to clean it up until they face their biggest test this season in a game against Clemson on October 10.
