Miami adjusting after injuries
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Miami’s offense was humming in the first three weeks of November.
The Hurricanes rolled to a 28-10 victory over Virginia Tech, a 41-8 victory over Notre Dame and a 44-28 victory over Virginia.
The offense generated 13 touchdowns and 1,160 yards during that stretch.
Miami (10-2) enters the Orange Bowl against Wisconsin (12-1) on Saturday looking to regroup after two of its uglier offensive showings of the season.
The Hurricanes scored a combined 17 points in their final two games – 14 in a 10-point loss at Pittsburgh in the regular-season finale and three in a 35-point loss to Clemson in the ACC title game.
They generated only 232 yards against Pittsburgh and 214 vs. Clemson.
“Everyone’s just got to execute,” senior left tackle K.C. McDermott said. “Everyone does their job and does it well, we’ll be fine.”
Injuries have been a significant factor, however.
Starting tailback Mark Walton suffered a season-ending ankle injury against Florida State on Oct. 7. Walton, a preseason all-ACC pick, was averaging 7.6 yards per carry and 107 per game before going down.
Starting tight end Christopher
Herndon suffered a season-ending leftknee injury in the loss to Pittsburgh. Herndon, a second-team all-ACC pick, finished with 40 catches for 477 yards (11.9) and four touchdowns. Starting wide receiver Ahmmon
Richards suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice before the ACC title game. Richards missed three games and parts of several others because of injuries but still finished with 24 catches for 439 yards (18.3) and three touchdowns.
Herndon and Richards are No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, on the team in catches.
“You can’t replace those guys,” Miami coach Mark Richt said. “They were outstanding players and a big part of what we do.
“We’ve got other guys that will play. We’ll get a plan together and they’ll compete.”
Senior Braxton Berrios has emerged as the No. 1 receiver with 52 catches for 634 yards and nine touchdowns, all team-high marks.
The 5-foot-9, 186-pound Berrios combined for 45 catches, 496 receiving yards and five touchdown catches in 36 games in his first three seasons.
Sophomore tailback Travis Homer has replaced Walton and rushed for 902 yards and seven touchdowns. He averages 6.0 yards per carry and 75.2 per game. He has three games with at least 100 yards this season.
“I think he is a really good player and I think their O-line does a really good job of covering guys up and letting him be patient in the backfield,” UW linebacker
T.J. Edwards said of Homer. “It is a really good run scheme that they have and the back is as good as we’ve seen all year.”
Welcome home: Dontye CarriereWilliams, a redshirt freshman cornerback from Miami, is among several UW players savoring a trip home.
UW practiced Tuesday at Barry University, which is about a 15-minute drive from Carriere-Williams’ house. He was able to visit his family on Christmas Eve again on Christmas Day after practice.
“My mom came up to the first game but I haven’t seen her since,” he said, referring to UW’s opener against Utah State.
“It was nice to see my mom.”
Extra points: A UW source confirmed the Badgers have replaced a home-and-home deal with Syracuse in 2020 and ’21 with home games against Appalachian State in ’20 and Eastern Michigan in ’21. UW opens the 2020 season on Sept. 5 against visiting Indiana, hosts Southern Illinois on Sept. 12 and Appalachian State on Sept. 19 before playing Sept. 26 at Michigan and Notre Dame on Oct. 3 in Green Bay. UW opens the '21 season Sept. 4 against visiting Penn State, hosts Eastern Michigan on Sept. 11, has a bye on Sept. 18, plays Notre Dame on Sept. 25 in Chicago and then hosts Michigan on Oct. 2. …
Several injured players attended practice, the first 15 minutes of which were open to reporters. That group included tight end Zander Neuville (right knee), tailback Bradrick Shaw (left knee) and wide receiver Quintez Cephus (right leg). Neuville, who had surgery two weeks ago, said he was surprised at how good he feels.