/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/68503537/usa_today_15199562.0.jpg)
The Miami Hurricanes came out and played their worst game of the 2020 season, laying a turd on the field in a 62-26 loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels that was honestly worse than the final score would lead you to believe.
Here’s our game recap of the destruction by Dylan Sherry
An Embarrassment for the Ages #TheU #MiamiHurricanes https://t.co/AifHJqLaZK pic.twitter.com/rWQgKWM9MW
— StateOfTheU.com (@TheStateOfTheU) December 13, 2020
And now, for the final time this regular season, let’s get into The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
The Good
- QB D’Eriq King’s escapability. He was able to step out of a few sacks and extend some plays. That was good.
- TE Brevin Jordan had a 76 yard touchdown catch. That was cool.
- Jordan had 6 catches for 140 and the aforementioned TD.
- Mike Harley had 6 catches for 76 yards and another TD.
- Miami converted multiple 2pt conversions following each of the above-listed TDs.
The Bad
- Losing. It sucks.
- Losing to Carolina. I hate them so much.
- The Miami run defense early. We knew that stopping Carolina’s run game was going to be key to this game. Carolina gained 12 on a run on the first play of the game and that was a harbinger of bad things to come.
- DJ Ivey had dropped interception on a ball thrown directly at him. Then, an Ivey interception on a great play to bait Howell into throwing it his way was negated by penalty for 12 men on the field as a defender couldn’t get off the field in time before the snap.
The Ugly
- Getting blown out. It wasn’t even losing. I hate losing but I can tolerate a loss such as Clemson. This was a failure of epic proportions. This was 2015 Clemson-like. This was the worst game Miami played all year, and it got worse and worse the longer it went on. This was PATHETIC to watch and everyone associated with this performance inside the program should be fucking ashamed of themselves.
- Miami wasted no time in giving up points. The Canes were down 3 scores after 3 TD drives by UNC to open the game.
- Miami’s Run Defense. The Canes gave up 554 yards rushing and Carolina’s RBs — Michael Carter (308 yards, 3 TDs) and Javonte Williams (236 yards, 2 TDs) — combined for the most rushing yards 2 teammates have had in an FBS game. EVER.
- Below is a video that sums up Miami’s piss-poor effort and performance defending Carolina’s run game.
Jaw-Dropping. pic.twitter.com/4YPTV7ku6U
— Taylor Vippolis (@tvippolis) December 12, 2020
- Allowed Sam Howell to become the 2nd player in recent CFB memory to run for, pass for, and catch a TD.
- Allowed 14.1 yards/completion.
- Allowed 10.1 yards per carry.
- ALLOWED 10.1 YARDS PER CARRY!!! FOR THE GAME!!!!
- Penalties. 7 for 68 yards.
- Allowed 40+ minutes time of possession.
- Allowed 6-11 on 3rd down
- Allowed 2-2 on 4th down
- Allowed 31 first downs. Read that one again.
- Preparation. This team was not ready to play, and it showed.
- Drops. Miami had a chance to make it a shootout early in the game. But drops killed drives and just inhibited any offensive production. Oh, and that counts for the dropped interceptions, too.
- Effort. This team quit on multiple plays. And while they were feeling sorry for themselves or watching the game go by, Carolina kept running hard, particularly the RBs, and just gashing the defense.
Team Grades
Offense: D
Nothing worked when Miami needed it to. Stopped on 4th and 1 early in the game because we couldn’t block Carolina. Points were mostly in 2H when the game was already out of hand. Multiple 3 and outs when the defense needed a breather and the Canes needed points to get back in the game.
Defense: F- - - - - - -
Gave up 62 points. Gave up the most rushing yards by a pair of teammates in FBS history. Gave up 778 yards, most in program history. Yes, more than the 2015 Clemson game that cost Al Golden his job. Missed tackles. Bad angles. Inexcusable effort. Penalties.
Special Teams: B
Punting was fine. Kicking was fine on FGs, PATs, and Kickoffs. Return and coverage units were fine. It was all just fine. B is a fine grade. Whateve
Coaching: Fireable.
60+ points allowed. Most yards EVER allowed in program history. Most rushing yards allowed by teammates in an FBS game EVER. No answers to anything. Well, really, one thing, because Carolina ran the same damn counter play all day long and we have still yet to figure out a way to stop it. Manny Diaz lost his job at Texas for his defense having a similar performance, and plain and simple Blake Baker needs to lose his job for what was seen today.
No, I’m not over-reacting. That performance was quite literally worse than any performance by a Miami defense ever, including when Mark D’Onofrio was DC. Blake Baker must go, and he must go tonight.
And, to those whose rebuttal would be something along the lines of “this is Manny Diaz’s defense”, the defense shows better effort and effectiveness when Diaz is at the controls. It’s simply not the same defense with Baker as coordinator. And after this performance tonight, he has to go. Period.
Now, I’m not calling for any other firings, but don’t think I’m only focused on Baker. Miami’s offense came out flat, Rhett Lashlee was conservative and outcoached early. And the position coaches....their positions didn’t play particularly well either, so there’s plenty of blame to go around.
And, for the head coach, your team came out tonight and played like <<waves at everything we just watched>>. This was a massive, MASSIVE step backwards as a program against a good but definitely not great Carolina team. So yeah, that matters for all the coaches.
But tonight, one man must go.
Bye Blake Baker. You’re done in this town.
That’s it for this regular-season ending edition of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
Hop in the comments and discuss.