This is part two of my analysis of our o-line at Miami.

Best of the Best

My vote for the best Miami Hurricanes offensive line performance goes to the Notre Dame game. The Canes carried the ball 42 times for 237 yards and a 5.6 yard average. Travis Homer nearly rushed for 150 yards, while DeeJay Dallas came into his own by scoring two touchdowns.

Here’s the leaping touchdown run by DeeJay from a fairly cool aerial perspective.

This game was one of the worst statistical accumulations by Malik Rosier, but that’s because our offensive and defensive lines were too good for Notre Dame. We didn’t play many affairs like this, in which our running attack commanded the game from beginning to end. Going forward it would seem that CMR eventually wants his team to become amazingly better and more consistent running the ball. This would mirror how CMR coached the last few years at Georgia, where he fed Nick Chubb (or Sony Michel) the ball relentlessly (same blue print employed by Kirby Smart). Running the ball isn’t always exciting, though the consequence of great offensive line and running back play usually leads to a strong showing. If the running game is abandoned due to poor o line play, the Pittsburg game is a usual consequence.

Worst of the Worst

Our worst game in terms of offensive line play was against Pittsburgh. Everything on the line, a perfect regular season, a chance at a College Football Playoff even with a loss to Clemson, and Miami’s run game could only muster 23 carries for 45 yards. Additionally, the o line gave up four crucial sacks. Malik was forced to throw under pressure time and time again, resulting in a game that truly exposed his accuracy as a passer. One could argue that we need a star at the qb position who can make something out of nothing consistently. Maybe that’ll help going forward.

A Summary of 2017

All told Miami gained more yards per carry since Joe Yearby started at running back his freshman year. That’s progress. Even though we lose our entire left side, there’s plenty to be excited about. I’m pumped to see Navaughn Donaldson’s maturation into a star. Tyree St. Louis will be solid at right tackle. The coaching staff is building toward a stellar and deep offensive line. 2017 will be seen as a great building block. Transfers like George Brown and Venzell Boulware can carry Miami’s o-line in the future.

Thanks for reading this segment on Miami’s o-line. Yes they were bad a few times, but the ND game showed an ideal by which to strive toward.