Richt expecting ‘sleepless nights’
With open date looming, Miami coach searches for answers after ugly loss
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — As the Hurricanes trudged off the field at Scott Stadium on Saturday night, bruised and humbled after a disappointing showing in a 16-13 loss to Virginia, the harsh reality of what lies ahead in the coming days sunk in.
With an open date looming This week and a 13-day wait before they’ll travel to face Boston College, Miami’s coaches and players know they’ll have lots of time to stew on the ugly loss to the Cavaliers.
They’ll also, they noted, have plenty of time to try and find answers after a performance in which their offensive line struggled, neither of their quarterbacks found consistent success and some ill-timed penalties proved costly as the Hurricanes tried to rally in the game’s final minutes.
“Maybe that’s exactly what we need to assess everything top to bottom,” said Hurricanes coach Mark Richt, who faced a firestorm of criticism from fans on social media and beyond after Saturday’s loss. “If there is a time inseason to make certain changes, you can do them, whether it’s just scheme or maybe personnel or whatever it may be. Sometimes, time will help you. Certainly, it’ll be a couple sleepless nights for me, I know.”
Added junior linebacker Shaq Quarterman, one of the Hurricanes more vocal leaders, “Going into this bye week with it is going to stick with us. We have to walk on campus. We have to walk in Miami and we have to own it. It comes back to just owning it and I think with these 13 days we have, we’re going to be ready. By the time we get to play again, we’re going to be ready.”
Despite the loss, Quarterman and the rest of the Hurricanes defense, for the most part, turned in a solid showing against the Cavaliers (4-2, 2-1 ACC).
Miami (5-2, 2-1) pressured Virginia quarterback Bryce Perkins throughout the night, sacking him four times and forcing him to throw three interceptions. The Hurricanes registered nine tackles for loss and held the Cavaliers to just 3 of 10 on third-down opportunities.
And while defensive tackle Tito Odenigbo and Trajan Bandy committed costly penalties that extended Virginia’s final drive and kept the Hurricanes offense on the sideline, it was largely Miami’s offensive woes that proved most frustrating Saturday.
Richt, who two weeks ago opted to give redshirt freshman N’Kosi Perry the first start of his young career, pulled the quarterback from the game after he started 3 of 6 for 20 yards with two interceptions.
But veteran quarterback Malik Rosier, who saw his first action since the second series of Miami’s game against FIU on Sept. 22, didn’t fare much better. Though Richt said he was hopeful the redshirt senior’s maturity and experience would make a difference as the Hurricanes tried to rally from a 10-point deficit, Rosier finished 12 of 23 for 170 yards. He led three scoring drives, but two of those drives ended with field goals, not touchdowns, and Miami was never able to catch upset-minded Virginia.
Neither Perry nor Rosier got much help from the Hurricanes’ offensive line, which was again inconsistent despite some shuffling to the unit. Drive after drive sputtered and for the fourth time this season, the Hurricanes offense was held under 30 points by a Power 5 opponent.
After the loss, Richt said the Hurricanes had run plays they believed in, plays that have worked in practice and throughout his 30-year career.
“Why they didn’t succeed, we’ll see. But most of the time, when you look at the tape, it’s a matter of somebody or a couple guys not getting their job done, normally,” Richt said. “Are there some plays we could call that would give us a better chance? I’m certain of that. But we called plays that we worked hard on and believed in and have had success [with] over the last 30 years. We felt pretty good about them going in.
“We still have a lot of football ahead of us. We still have the opportunity to get to Charlotte [for the ACC Championship Game]. But certainly … Virginia earned the right to win, we didn’t do enough to get it done.”
Miami falls out of AP Top 25
The Hurricanes, who had been ranked 16th in the nation ahead of Saturday’s loss at Virginia, dropped out of the AP Top 25 on Sunday.
The fall ended Miami’s streak of 23 consecutive poll appearances.