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Watching the 2015 Miami Hurricanes Football team is eerily similar to being Bill Murray in "Groundhog's Day."
They make the same mistakes week in and week out.
And despite Brad Kaaya being one of the best QB's in the country and Stacy Coley and Rashawn Scott looking unstoppable on the outside, they leave tons of points on the field week in and week out.
Putting teams away just isn't in their DNA.
However they got the much needed win today.
Kaaya was the man when they needed him most.
The ACC Coastal is still in play, and that's a good thing.
The particulars below.
The Good:
- I like the green.
Game ready #BeatVTech pic.twitter.com/hlzdV1TcnD
— Miami Hurricanes (@MiamiHurricanes) October 17, 2015
- You'll see this on SportsCenter tonight, I am sure.
Insane one-handed catch by Joe Yearby. Wow.
— Matt Porter (@mattyports) October 17, 2015
- Al Quadin Muhammad and Chad Thomas continuing to play inspired and effective are good signs for a struggling D. You can add Kendrick Norton/Juwon Young into the mix as well.
The future is bright for Miami on D. AQM & Chad Thomas have been disruptive all day. Juwon Young with a terrific INT & TFL @TheStateOfTheU
— John Pickens (@Jpickens15) October 17, 2015
- Too many FG attempts this season, but at least Miami has a good kicker.
Badgley with a 49-yard FG. He remains perfect on kicks from 40-49 yards. Also, career long for Badge. Miami 13, VT 10, 9:44 left in half.
— Christy Chirinos (@ChristyChirinos) October 17, 2015
- Nice to see Coley with another big performance.
- The pocket isn't always clean for Kaaya. He's really showing a lot these past few weeks, hanging in and making big time throws under pressure. His toss to Rashawn Scott at the end of the half was outstanding. And that 4th Q drive to put the game away, was all him!
#Canes #BeatVTech pic.twitter.com/zumEVC5849
— mfr24 (@mfr234) October 17, 2015PERCISION PASS TO MR. SCOTT! #Touchdown #BeatVTech pic.twitter.com/W73z4QEmkF
— Miami Hurricanes (@MiamiHurricanes) October 17, 2015
- Artie Burns (2 INTS) has sick ball skills (though he did give one back in the 4th).
Fourth INT of the season for Artie Burns, who leads the ACC. Tied for sixth nationally.
— Matt Porter (@mattyports) October 17, 2015- Yet another TD off the board for penalty, and Mark Walton is the victim again.
- Why is it 6 games in before the O utilizes Walter Tucker (at all)?
The Bad:
Brad Kaaya to Mark Walton TD negated by an OPI call. Believe that's three TDs Mark Walton has had called back by a penalty. Sigh.
— Christy Chirinos (@ChristyChirinos) October 17, 2015
- More bad tackling, more sequences where the D is unprepared pre snap, and so on and so on and so on and so on.
- This unit did not look good. The O line as a whole remains incredibly disappointing.
- A picture is worth 1000 words.
- The pocket isn't always clean for Kaaya. He's really showing a lot these past few weeks, hanging in and making big time throws under pressure. His toss to Rashawn Scott at the end of the half was outstanding. And that 4th Q drive to put the game away, was all him!
New #Canes OL rotation... Darling, McDermott, Gall, Isidora and Odogwu. That last flag was false start on the center, Gall
— Manny Navarro (@Manny_Navarro) October 17, 2015
The Ugly:
— Susan Miller Degnan (@smillerdegnan) October 17, 2015
Today's #Canes game is, uh, sparsely attended.
— Cam Underwood (@UnderwoodSports) October 17, 2015
Team Grades:
Offense:
Starting Danny Isidora at RT (or anyone not named Sunny Odogwu) was long overdue.
Kaaya is a stud. Clutch, clutch, clutch on the put away drive.
And With Coley joining Scott as a consistent threat, this passing offense is really tough to defend.
But the running game remains suspect against better defenses.
And they leave so many points on the board with mistakes in the red zone. It's utterly frustrating.
The offensive line was even worse this week than last.
Defense:
Trent Harris created the first score of the game, recovering a Brenden Motley fumble deep in Hokies territory. Yes the QB lost the ball before contact, but the pressure helped.
But one possession later a chunk play to Bucky Hodges occurs when Motley has all day to throw the ball Vs a 3 man rush, leading to a FG.
This sums it up. Still inconsistent.
Nice to see some young guys like Thomas, AQM, and Young step up though. Young might be a revelation.
There are some signs of improvement but a lot to correct still.
Special Teams:
Freshman Sheldrick Redwine made a very nice open field tackle in punt coverage in the first quarter. Jaquan Johnson has one in the third. Another big day for Badgley.
Overall solid of not spectacular across the board.
Coaching:
2nd week in a row the D is burned by the speed option? That's unprepared.
Two 3rd and long draw calls, (the first in fairness was 3rd and impossible) illustrate a very conservative approach. Strangely before the Kaaya to Scott 2nd Q TD they appeared to be playing for the half as well.
Too many penalties yet again.
I will say this, the team played hard. There was no evidence of an FSU hangover this week.