clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Can Miami’s Offense Show Improvement in the Pinstripe Bowl?

It’s apparent that Miami won’t be bringing in an offensive coordinator this off-season — can they show any improvement before the start of 2019?

By dylansherry
Miami v Virginia Tech Photo by Michael Shroyer/Getty Images

Poor quarterback play, horrid play calling, and sloppy execution are all factors as to why Miami’s offense has been abysmal in 2018. Heading into their bowl game, Mark Richt and the ‘Canes have a chance to end this season on a high note.

In the Pinstripe Bowl, Miami will face a familiar post-season foe in Wisconsin, who has the 42nd-best defense in the nation. Only 2 other teams on Miami’s schedule this year have ranked higher — the ‘Canes dropped both of those contests. The two teams are LSU, ranked 29th, and Virginia ranked 24th. Miami scored 30 points combined in those 2 games — not to mention the other times this season in which the ‘Cane offense has struggled mightily against lesser-ranked defenses.

With this in mind, will Mark Richt change anything on offense? It’s obvious that much of it hasn’t worked up to this point, but that doesn’t make it impossible to adapt.

As fans, witnessing creativity on the offensive side of the ball would offer some hope. ‘Creativity’ is just what the ‘Canes might need in order to beat the 3rd-best defense they’ve met this season. Ultimately, this game could give us some assurance heading into 2019, or make this offseason feel like one of the longest ever. If Mark Richt’s pride and play calling is what we’re stuck with, then we can only hope that he improves sooner than later.

Achieving ‘creativity’ may be harder than it seems, however, as it’s rumored that N’Kosi Perry will be suspended for the Pinstripe Bowl due a sexually-explicit video that surfaced from his Snapchat account. This offers yet another challenge for the offense, as Malik Rosier brings a level of mediocrity that could possibly seal the fate of Miami’s bowl game.

It may be overly-positive to think that Miami will ‘find’ its offense against Wisconsin, but a bowl victory this year would be crucial for the ‘Canes. While the variation between 7 and 8 wins is minimal, it would feel much different and give Miami important momentum heading into signing day and the remainder of the offseason.