Miami Hurricanes: Three Stars From the Advocare Kickoff Classic

The showdown in the Lonestar state was supposed to be a tussle when it came to putting points on the board. What we got was another embarrassing performance on national television. This time around it was at the hands of a SEC opponent.

The University of Miami Hurricanes emerged from Arlington, Texas, 0-1 after suffering a deflating loss to the LSU Tigers Sunday evening. With a final score of 33-17, the Canes move forward to their home opener next Saturday afternoon.

We can’t take a step forward without a bit of self-reflection at the last couple of hours that were the game in question. Without any further ado, here’s your Three Stars of the Week.

Third Star

Brian Hightower

Freshman WR Brian Hightower’s first collegiate reception went for 32 yards to the house for a score.

Second Star

WR Jeff Thomas

When passes were delivered in his area code, Jeff Thomas made some remarkable receptions. Despite the point differential, the sophomore speedster carved up the Tigers pass coverage. Thomas’ five receptions for 132 receiving yards led all Miami pass catchers in either category this evening.

First Star

DT Gerald Willis III

In his first game in over a year, Gerald Willis III appeared to be the lone bright spot on the Hurricanes defense all night. He was breaking through the line of scrimmage to disrupt plays in the backfield. When he wasn’t penetrating, Willis was able to bat a couple passes out of the air. This game got out of hand quickly, but the one constant throughout the night was the man known as ‘G’.

Honorable Mention

Ugh! Guess we should try to gleam some good from tonight.

Before suffering an injury in the second half, DeeJay Dallas was one of the brighter spots for the Canes offense. The sophomore’s eight carries for 38 rushing yards and a 4.8 yards per carry average was one of the few bright spots on offense for Miami. Here’s hoping Dallas’ injury is nothing serious long term.

Dallas and the Forth Worth area were tremendously hospitable to the Canes fans who made the trip. They opened their doors to allow State of the U to host its first ever ‘Happy Hour Event’, allowing Miami fans of all ages to gather and celebrate all things Hurricanes.

Despite what happened on the field tonight, the Adidas “Miami x Parley A1” uniforms were a great concept to help spread awareness of sustainability around the world. Kudos to both the three stripe nation and UM for taking such a bold step to bring

Whether it was taking a flight or taking the long drive to the game, many of you sacrificed a fair amount of time travelling to the game. Obviously, this is not the way that most Canes fans imagined the night going, but to those who made the trek, we give you a big shoutout tonight! We all deserve better than we witnessed this evening, but here is to getting together with better results for the remainder of the season.

That’s it, that’s all. Starting tuned for the Good, The Bad and the Ugly article for all your venting pleasure. Perhaps The Bad,and the Ugly would be a more appropriate title this week.