The Good, The Bad, The UGLY: Russell Athletic Bowl Edition

The Good:

Deon Bush made the kind of impact play 'Canes fans have been waiting for all year, with his opening series sack of Teddy Bridgewater for a safety.

Allen Hurns picked up 2 catches for 25 yards,and finishes as the 'Canes all time single season receiving yards leader. Well deserved for a hard working and classy kid.  Nice season, nice career.

Seeing Coach Schnellenberger get some camera time is always nice.

These two teams will meet again next year, and Miami if they can get their act together, they will have a shot at revenge.

That's about it!!

The Bad:

Going for it on 4th and 1 from your own 45 in the 1st quarter was a bad risk. In the long run it did not matter, but at the time it seemed like a costly error.

Miami's offensive line got  flat out whupped by the front 7 of Louisville.  The running game was stifled and Stephen Morris had zero time to throw the ball. This offensive line was supposed to be one of the best in the nation. Give UL credit on defense, as they are a talented group, but this was a flat and unmotivated performance by what had been the strongest unit on the team.

The 'Canes were 0-11 on third down.  With their over-matched defense fighting to keep them in the game, they mustered nothing on offense, particularly in the first half.

Louisville on the other hand was near flawless (8-14) on third downs.

Did Louisville have a screen called for every blitz Miami ran?

Overall the Cardinals played harder and were better prepared in all aspects of the game. This was a sad way to end what started out as a promising campaign.  Lots of hard work remains, and let's hope that most of  the kids from the top 5 recruiting haul Miami has incoming, remain the course.

Up 36-9, having dominated the game end to end, the Cardinals kept chucking the ball down field deep into the 4th quarter. Aside from the poor sportsmanship it showed, Louisville's coaches unnecessarily put Bridgewater (who did not leave the game until a minute change left) at risk for injury.  Not cool.

The Ugly:

Mark May not only speculating, but practically rooting during the pregame for Al Golden to take the Penn State job should Bill O'Brien head to the Houston Texans as expected.  Classy segment MM.

Game Ball goes to: Bridgewater.  Miami's disappointing D made other teams' best weapons look like Heisman Trophy winners all season long. Tonight they faced someone who needed very little help.  Good luck in the pros Teddy (should you declare).   Another NFL talent, DeVonte Parker, was nearly impossible to cover and gets honorable mention.

Team grades:

Offense: F Everyone knew Miami needed a shoot out to win. UM never really got a shot off.

Defense: C- Silly as this may sound, considering they gave up over 5 bills of total offense, I felt they competed hard tonight. We have all off-season to debate lack of talent Vs poor scheme. Bottom line, they didn't get it done again tonight.

Special Teams: C We'll miss Pat O'Donnell's big leg.