Film Review: Miami 30 - Southern Miss 7

Unlike many Power 5 programs in Week 2, the Miami Hurricanes finished the job against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles on Saturday, September 10th. The ‘Canes took a 10-7 halftime lead and turned it into a safe 30-7 win at Hard Rock Stadium.

The Canyonero keys to victory for Southern Miss. were:

1- Stick to the fundamentals. Missed tackles and blocks weren’t as much of an issue as they were against BCU. From Week 1 to Week 2, some improvement was made. The seven penalties has to be cut down on in order to win on the road in Week 3.

2- Contain Frank Gore Jr. Gore Jr. touched the ball only nine times on offense, for a total of 23 yards. Safe to say he was contained.

3- Take what the Golden Eagles defense gives you. I thought Miami OC Josh Gattis adjusted his scheme well after the half. Miami spread the ball around to more threats than just Xavier Restrepo as the game wore on.

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The Doppler

The Doppler section will feature important stats that I think tell the deeper story of the game. For instance, Miami has to clean up seven penalties for 70 yards against Texas A&M. Appalachian State is nearly 100 SP+ spots higher than So. Miss. The ‘Canes converted 9-of-17 third downs on offense, and held the Eagles to 5-of-13. Much like in ‘21, Miami was stopped on a 4th down try.

Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Miami forced three So. Miss. turnovers while committing only one of their own. The offense allowed four sacks, eight tackles for loss, two PBU’s and two hurries. Southern Miss. likes to blitz and showed different fronts but their talent level is nothing compared to the Aggies.

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Miami O

As I said in The Doppler, the ‘Canes allowed four sacks, eight TFL’s, and two hurries against a bad G5 team. So. Miss. HC Will Hall has for sure brought in a ton of transfers, but they shouldn’t be able to remotely compete with Miami’s offensive line.

On top of that, QB Tyler Van Dyke was off on his accuracy. Van Dyke picked it up later but he threw one TD and one INT, while averaging only 8.8 yards per attempt. Van Dyke did spread it around to eight different receivers which shows he eventually got his eyes off of Restrepo and on to other receivers.

As for the running game, Miami’s top three backs in order were Henry Parrish Jr., Thad Franklin Jr., and Jaylan Knighton. Parrish rushed for 109 yards on 4.7 per carry and a score. Franklin 49 yards on 4.1 per carry and a score of his won. Knighton struggled dropping that swing pass that nearly was a turnover, while averaging only 3.2 per carry.

Above- Parrish might not seem like the most physically gifted back on the roster, but he’s a human pinball when he carries the rock, can catch the ball, and is a willing pass pro participant.

Above- Van Dyke has to know the internal clock. If you’ve got about 2.8 seconds, and you’re on your 4th read, it’s time to run or throw it away.

Above- With all of these TE’s Gattis likes... why not keep one in to help in protection with a rocky O-Line? Then again, this shouldn’t have turned into a sack anyway. Point at them, count them out, adjust.

Above- The technique from the RT here is atrocious. No one wants their tackles to look like that. He also jumps out wide instead of picking up the inside rusher. Inside is the threat more than outside.

Above- Inside DL let go for OT to jump out really damn wide and pick up a LB/DB. Guard committed to help C really early in process. RG should stay square with eyes to goal post jabbing that guy for C, but seeing and picking up the DL.

Above- here it is in the full GIF. Coach Mirabal is going to be frustrated with this slide back to the old regime. But when you’re getting your OODA Loop taken off kilter you resort back to the old ways. That’s why rules are important in pass pro.

Above- Record scratch moment for that S from So. Miss. I love this kind of stuff, out of the Lashlee playbook that I hope Van Dyke suggested to Gattis. Miami may needs to use these type of plays to get the WR’s some confidence and separation.

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Miami D

The ‘Canes defense came away with three sacks, seven TFL’s, four PBU’s and a hurry on the evening. The D was porous at first, but tightened up especially when Leonard Taylor got on the field to provide pressure without having to blitz.

Above- Wide bunch levels concepts are going to be a tough one to defend. So Miss QB Zach Wilckie threw some darts on the afternoon and looked great for a young QB.

Above- 16 was playing press man. If you haven’t jammed this guy by now he’s basically on a free release on a fade in man coverage. No bueno. In R4 terminology, the fade unCAP’d because there’s no one deep over the WR, and the CB is within seven yards of the WR at the line. Once you look at personnel, 16 was not match for Jason Brownlee.

Above- 16 gets smoked on a single move and Brownlee scores the Golden Eagles only points of the game.

Above- On the flip side, 8 doesn’t get enough of a jam on the receiver, but he sticks with him on the fade. It’s caught, but not without a damn near perfect catch and throw.

Above- Jacob Lichtenstein almost lost contain but recovers well for what I thought was a momentum changing sack. This turned out to be a big 1st half play to switch the tide of the game.

Above- 8 and 7 aren’t the only ones posing for animal crackers while Brownlee does his thing. This is 5 and 23 this time.

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The wrap

Woof. Ok, y’all. It was a rough start on both sides of the ball but the staff seemed to have really learned the players and what they can bring to the table over half time. Who has the grapefruits to play at this level, and who doesn’t. That’s hard to tell in practice when you know who you’re going against, their moves, and the scheme across from you.

Texas A&M will provide a new challenge. The Aggies talent level is vastly superior to Southern Miss, no kidding, right? We’ll see if Miami looks as slow across from an SEC Blue Chip Ratio squad as they did against a meh Group of 5 opponent (and even a mid-range FCS team).