Miami Hurricanes Football: Three Stars From the Savannah State Game

Keeping it real, because that’s all we can ever do. Today’s win against Savannah State is a nice step forward from the utter embarrassment of the atrociousness at AT&T Stadium. The Canes survived an avalanche of criticism throughout the week to put a halt to their four-game losing streak. The home opener for the Canes heard plenty of cheers for the team, as well as a couple of jeers for certain players. The Canes finally ended their four-game skid that started last November against Pitt. The Hurricanes manhandled Savannah State by a score of 77-0. That is the largest margin of victory in UM history!

With Miami firmly in control of the game before kickoff, the pool of Three Star prospects has swelled considerably compared to last Sunday. It was tough, but here are your Three Stars for this evening.

Third Star

N’Kosi Perry

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Let’s start with the quarterbacks, because the QB competition for UM is not a done deal, nor will fans let it be for the remainder of the season. N’Kosi Perry came in after the Canes built a healthy lead. Perry was efficent today based on his 64.3 % completion percentage and his ball placement on the day. While we can’t overlook his one interception, the sophomore QB lead the Hurricanes on some successful drives tonight. Perry put together a decent stat line of nine completions on 14 pass attempts for 93 passing yards and three TDs through the air.

Second Star

Malik Rosier

Public Enemy Number One for many of you, the starting quarterback has taken the brunt of the criticism for the team’s performance against LSU. Against the SSU, Rosier can take heed in that he was the catalyst for victory today. Tonight the senior was somewhat on-target with his throws, seeming to be much more in-sync with his receivers in this go around. Using his legs to keep the defense on their heels, the Mobile, Alabama, native scampered for one rushing TD. Of course, most of you want to hear how good he was through the air. Well, 131 passing yards, completing 8 of 12 attempts against the Tigers for two passing TDs is a pretty good evening.

The reprieve from criticism for Rosier may be brief or non-existent considering the quality of the opponent this week. Fans are accustomed to the ebb and flow that Rosier represents as UM’s starting QB. Until Rosier is able to replicate this performance when the stakes are high and the pressure is at its highest peak, fans will remain skeptical regardless of how well he balls out until then. If anything can be taken away from this win, it’s that we once again know what a good Malik Rosier looks like.

First Star

Brevin Jordan

TE Brevin Jordan had himself a day. The freshman corralled receptions in the flats and over the middle this evening on his way to a seven receptions, 52 receiving yards and two touchdowns performance. What doesn’t show up in the boxscore is the resilience of Jordan to churn forward for each yard. It’s was nice to see the tight end get involved in the passing game this week.

Honorable Mentions

The Canes defense was stout for a majority of the evening. One of the bigger reasons for SSU’s woes was DE Jonathan Garvin. After putting together a solid game against LSU a week ago, Garvin continued the trend by chasing backs out of bounds and harassing SSU QBs all night long. Garvin finished the game with eight tackles and two tackles for loss.

Jeff Thomas continues to emerge towards the top of Miami’s receiver chart. After having a catch overturned on the previous play, Thomas decided to show off his world class speed, racing down the sideline for 67-yard touchdown reception. With WR Ahmmon Richards missing the game with a knee injury, Thomas has asserted himself as one of Miami’s premier options in the passing game. Thomas also accounted for 116 return yards on the day.

Another freshman from the 2018 recruiting class who made his debut this evening was RB Lorenzo Lingard. Plenty of fans and analysts speculated that the Canes’ RB depth could be special this year, and Lingard certainly made the case for the argument, rushing for 82 yards with a yards-per-carry of 20.5 and two rushing TDs to close the game.

As expected, Miami’s freshmen phenoms were able to get a plate at the table tonight. With the game well in hand before halftime, many players towards the bottom of the depth chart got time on field. As you can imagine, the future looks bright.

IT’S ALWAYS ABOUT THE U!