Jackets visit Miami today
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — For No. 11 Miami, snapping a seven-year losing streak against Florida State was the easy part.
The real challenge starts now. The Hurricanes said all the right things this week about moving forward after beating their in-state and Atlantic Coast Conference rivals, even after finding out top running back Mark Walton’s season is over because of an ankle injury that happened against the Seminoles. Miami (4-0, 2-0) can prove those words today as it hosts Georgia Tech (3-1, 2-0) with the outright Coastal Division lead at stake.
Miami has lost the game immediately after playing Florida State in three of the past four seasons.
“I don’t think they’re going to let down,” Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said. “They know what the importance of the game is. They’re going to be ready to play. … It’s a division game, it’s a home game for them. If we go in there and beat them, it won’t be because they had a letdown.”
If there’s an edge for Georgia Tech, it’s that the Yellow Jackets are coming in off an open date. They haven’t played since rolling past North Carolina on Sept. 30, which means whatever little aches and pains some players had after the season’s first month are probably healed by now.
That’s not the case for Miami. Besides Walton being gone for the year after undergoing surgery, the Hurricanes will be without massive right guard Navaughn Donaldson, cornerback Dee Delaney and safety Sheldrick Redwine. That means, at minimum, Miami will have four new starters today.
And given the challenge Georgia Tech provides defenses with its flexbone scheme that features triple-option plays, that’s not ideal.
“It’s pretty tough to prepare for a team like that,” Miami defensive lineman Joe Jackson said. “Not everybody agrees with the way they play, but it works well for them.”
Georgia Tech is No. 2 nationally in rushing yards, having averaged 396 per game this season. It’s not unusual to see the Yellow Jackets near the top of the rankings in rushing, and this year’s offense has shown progress over the course of the season. Even with a front seven many rave about, the Hurricanes have been vulnerable to the run at times, though they have given up only one rushing touchdown this season.