Though his team won’t play until next Saturday, Miami coach Al Golden is game-planning for an opponent.
This week, he said, is “about us vs. complacency.”
The Hurricanes are feeling fine after Saturday’s 21-16 win over Florida, which vaulted the Canes (2-0) into the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time in three seasons at No. 15.
They achieved that despite continuing to struggle with staying on the field. After going just 4-of-14 against Florida Atlantic and 1-of-11 against Florida, Miami is batting a paltry .200 (2-of-25) on third down. That ranks 117th in the nation.
In large part due to those woes, Miami’s defense played for more than 38 minutes against Florida. Were it not for five forced turnovers and the booming leg of punter Pat O’Donnell, the Hurricanes might be licking their wounds this week.
“We were terrible on third down,” Golden said. “Give Florida credit.”
The Gators bottled up Miami’s running game and put pressure on quarterback Stephen Morris. While Morris threw a pair of pretty touchdown passes, he and his receivers didn’t appear to be on the same page consistently.
Of the 10 unsuccessful third-down chances, all but one were passing plays. Five fell incomplete and one was intercepted. Morris was sacked on another. Two were offensive line penalties on Miami. The lone rush, by Duke Johnson, went for 7 yards on third-and-17.
Miami’s issues on third down didn’t matter against FAU; the Hurricanes gained more than 500 yards of total offense and had 300 yards rushing. They couldn’t run the ball on the Gators, so “all the game plans went out the window,” Golden said.
“That’s it. It’s over,” he said. “We won. Now we’ve got to move forward.”
Next Saturday against FCS opponent Savannah State, the Hurricanes will split the workload. In tight spots, they may want to call tight end Clive Walford’s number.
Walford, a Glades Central grad, has 361 yards and four touchdowns on 16 receptions in his last six games, an average of 22.6 yards per catch. He has either picked up a first down or a touchdown 15 of the last 16 times he has touched the ball.
“That says we should be getting him the ball more,” Golden said.
Despite Walford’s production, Morris has looked his way more than four times once in his last six games. By contrast, Miami’s top two receivers, Allen Hurns and Phillip Dorsett, have combined for 29 targets this year.
Hurns, who caught an 8-yard pass that converted Miami’s only first down against Florida (and led directly to UM’s second touchdown of the day), has been Morris’ top option and has nine catches for 94 yards. Dorsett, meanwhile, has just three catches for 66 yards, one of which was a 52-yard touchdown. On several attempts, Morris hasn’t been close to him.
“Just disconnected a couple times,” Golden said. “That’s it. It’s really not a function of any one thing. We all have to improve, starting with me. We’re doing that here today. … It’s been a very productive two days.”
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