Sloppy Canes self-destruct in lopsided loss
It was the one moment Hard Rock Stadium was in a true frenzy Saturday as the Miami Hurricanes faced North Carolina and it was for a play that technically didn’t even happen.
Sam Howell made just about his only mistake in North Carolina’s 62-26 obliteration of Miami and floated a duck toward Dyami Brown the left sideline and DJ Ivey easily stepped in front to intercept the star quarterback — except the Hurricanes were late making a substitution and 12 players were on the field. The interception came back and the Tar Heels scored six plays later to take a 14-3 lead at Hard Rock Stadium.
“We had a guy that didn’t know the personnel group that was in and ended up being on the field illegally,” coach Manny Diaz said.
It was only the start of the sloppiest performance of the year in this mostly encouraging season for the No. 9 Hurricanes. Miami committed seven penalties for 68 yards, including 6 for 53 in the first half before the game was entirely out of hand. Last week in their blowout of Duke, the Hurricanes missed only one tackle, according to Pro Football Focus. On Saturday, they seldom got through a single play without missing one and No. 20 North Carolina ran for 554 yards on 55 carries.
The Tar Heels didn’t just bully Miami (8-2, 7-2 Atlantic Coast) on Saturday. They also let the Hurricanes beat up on themselves to hand Diaz another embarrassing loss in a short tenure littered with them.
After Miami lost games to both FIU and Louisiana
Tech last season on the way to a 6-7 finish, the Hurricanes went through most of 2020 with more thrilling victories than outright debacles. Their lone loss entering the weekend was a lopsided loss, but to the then-No. 1 Clemson Tigers. On Saturday, Miami reverted back to old form.
“Something caught up to us tonight,” Diaz said, “because I did not recognize the football team I saw on the field tonight and, again, I bear the responsibility for that.”
At the end of North Carolina’s first drive, cornerback Te’Cory Couch roughed the kicker on the extra-point again, costing the Hurricanes 15 yards on the kickoff. Miami went three-and-out after running back Cam’Ron Harris ran backward for negative-7 yards on the first play of the drive. The Hurricanes punted back to the Tar Heels and, aided by the illegalsubstitution penalty, they raced down the field to stretch their lead to 14-3.
Miami had five drives end with either a punt or turnover on downs in the first half, and the Hurricanes faced third-and-11 or longer on three of them. On one, tight end Brevin Jordan was flagged for holding on first down to back Miami up into first-and-19, and eventually third-and-13. On another, star tackle Zion Nelson false started, and the Hurricanes failed on third-and-11. The third drive was simply backed up by negative plays — a 2-yard loss for Harris and a sack against quarterback D’Eriq King — to put Miami in a third-and-17 situation.
Every issue to crop up at times for the Hurricanes this season — penalties, slow starts on defense, dropped passes — compounded Saturday and a regular season spent living on the edge with narrow victories crashed to an end against an opponent who could make them pay.
“Obviously, it’s frustrating. You’ve got to try to keep composure and do what you can do on the field,” star defensive end Jaelan Phillips said. “We have to take responsibility as a defense. You can never allow 60 points. That’s completely unacceptable.”