Months ago, Al Golden mapped out every day of his team’s 2013 season. A peek at the last two days of his calendar:
• Saturday, Sept. 7: Miami beats Florida.
• Sunday, Sept. 8: Miami moves on from win over Florida.
After defeating the Gators on Saturday, the Hurricanes pleased their coach Sunday by sticking with the plan. They reported to work in the morning to lift weights, watch film and move on from one of the most important wins in recent Canes history.
“We don’t want to let this turn into Mardi Gras,” Golden told reporters. “We don’t need a week of celebration. … We’re happy with the win, but we have a lot of things we need to fix this week.”
On Sunday, Miami earned its first Associated Press Top 25 ranking since November 2010, entering the poll at No. 15. It is the first time that Golden, who led Temple for five seasons before taking over the Miami program in December 2010, has been leader of an AP Top 25 program.
In the USA Today coaches’ poll, Miami jumped six spots, from No. 24 to tied for 18th.
After losing to Miami, Florida dropped from No. 12 to No. 18 in the AP poll, and from No. 9 to No. 20 in the coaches’ poll.
Golden said the recognition was nice, but he won’t revel in it. He spent a quiet night at home with family after the game — “I was shot. I think we all were,” he said — and Sunday morning began sorting out several issues in advance of a Sept. 21 game against FCS opponent Savannah State at Sun Life Stadium.
First and foremost is his offense, which was 1-of-11 on third down and is now 2-for-25 to start the season, ranking UM 117th in the nation. The Hurricanes gained just 212 yards, their lowest total since 2009.
That has put a lot of pressure on Miami’s defense. After two weeks, the Hurricanes are 40th in yards allowed (331.5), but among top-40 defenses, only one — Oregon’s — has played more snaps.
Golden needs better play from quarterback Stephen Morris, who has completed just 51.9 percent of his passes and has thrown an interception in each of Miami’s two games, and the Canes’ passing game. Asked if Morris was out-of-sync with his receivers, Golden brushed aside the question. “I’m not even going to bite on that,” he said.
In his eyes, UF’s tough defense contributed to Morris’ struggles Saturday (12-for-25, 162 yards, 2 TDs, INT). He also gave credit to the Gators for stopping running back Duke Johnson, who finished with 59 yards and a TD on a career-high 21 carries, none longer than 12 yards.
“This game was a tough, hard-fought game,” Golden said. “We’re not worried about the stats right now.”
Other notes from Golden’s chat with reporters:
• He said the Canes were injury-free after Saturday’s game. That includes Johnson, safety Rayshawn Jenkins and cornerback Ladarius Gunter, all of whom left the game after taking hard hits.
• The bye week will be key for the development of wide receiver Stacy Coley, linebacker Jermaine Grace and running Gus Edwards, freshmen who are expected to contribute but have done little thus far. “No question, this is a week we really have to move forward with them,” Golden said.
