RECAP: Hurricanes Earn a Tough Win in Blacksburg

There aren’t a lot of positives to take away from Saturday’s game against Virginia Tech, other than Miami somehow finding a way to win.

For much of the contest, quarterback D’Eriq King had no time to throw, and Virginia Tech was able to dictate to Miami’s defense. It seemed like an unfortunate return to mediocrity for Manny Diaz’s Hurricanes, a game in which they did many of the smaller yet integral things poorly. Miami struggled consistently in tackling and blocking, allowing the Hokies to tear through the defense on the ground and tee off on D’Eriq King, totaling six sacks on the day.

Bubba Bolden, in particular, had a lackluster game—a usual rock for the unit. Bolden gifted Tech a first down in the late-third quarter, described as “one of the biggest bonehead penalties you’ll ever see” by the commentators. Hopefully, it’ll be a wake-up call for Bolden, as he looked far away from one of the best safeties in the country.

It’s been a tough couple of weeks for the ‘Canes defense, who gave up 41 points to NC State a week prior and had their backs to the wall against Virginia Tech after surrendering 24 through three quarters. Against NC State, Miami was able to score freely, but the points didn’t come as easy this time around.

Virginia Tech frequently held the ‘Canes to field goal attempts and tough third-down conversions, many of which ended in sacks. D’Eriq King is a great quarterback, but he still needs time to throw.

Despite looking shaky, it was the defense that bailed out Miami’s offense. The ‘Canes pitched a shutout in the fourth quarter, even when the offense failed to kill time and went three-and-out late in the fourth. Moving forward, Miami found ways to win two challenging games on the road, passing the tests, but just barely.

Go Canes.