After slow start at BC, ‘D’ vows to rebound
CORAL GABLES — For the better part of the season, when the Hurricanes’ offense has struggled, the defense has risen to the occasion.
Miami’s defense entered last week’s game against Boston College as the top-rated unit in the ACC and No. 2 in the nation. It was No. 1 in the nation in third-down conversion percentage and tackles for loss, No. 2 in the nation in passing yards allowed, No. 7 in the nation in turnovers gained and No. 12 in the nation in rushing defense.
And then Boston College shredded that group on three early drives.
The Eagles — who like the the Hurricanes were coming off a bye week — scored on their first three drives against Miami, going 88 yards on 10 plays on the first, 77 yards on 10 plays on the second and 79 yards on 21 plays in the third.
By the time the Hurricanes had a chance to catch their breath, literally and figuratively, the Eagles had jumped to a 17-7 lead. While Miami’s defense made adjustments and was more effective in the second half, the damage — as Hurricanes defensive coordinator Manny Diaz noted Wednesday — had been done.
Boston College pulled away for a 27-14 win, giving Miami it’s second straight loss. With UM needing a win against Duke (5-3, 1-3) on Saturday night to keep any chance of playing for the Coastal Division title alive, the Hurricanes defense says its determined to learn from their mistakes.
“If anything, I would say we’re human,” defensive end Jonathan Garvin responded when asked what he felt the team learned about themselves after the slow start at Boston College. “Not to say we thought we were anything better, but it just shows that we’re the same as everyone else. We can get worn down, we can be shocked, because that’s what it was. It was a shocker for us, so we just have to make sure we do better and capitalize on that next time.”
Added linebacker Michael Pinckney, “We learned a lot of teams are going to scheme us. We were seeing things that we haven’t seen all week. They were running fast. It was really fast. We have to prepare for those type of things.”
Duke isn’t coming off a bye week and may not have had the time to install any trick plays or wrinkles the way Boston College did when Eagles wide receiver Jeff Smith threw a couple passes downfield, but the Blue Devils have a savvy veteran quarterback in Daniel Jones, average 410 yards per game, and are coming off a performance in which they totaled 615 yards in a 54-45 loss at Pitt.
Duke has the ability to move the ball, and with both the Hurricanes and Blue Devils coming off demoralizing losses and looking to bounce back, Miami’s defense understands it can’t afford another slow start.
It has to be prepared for an explosive Duke team, especially with the offense struggling and the team not holding a lead in a game since late against Florida State on Oct. 6.
What’s encouraging for the Hurricanes (5-3, 2-2), though, is that they’re still among national leaders in multiple statistical categories and they’ve shown their resiliency.
In the second half against Boston College, the Hurricanes allowed 134 yards of total offense — after giving up 299 in the first half — and 10 points, all of which came on short fields after two Malik Rosier interceptions deep in Miami territory.
It’s on that, Diaz and his players say, which they must build, especially as the offense continues working to find its footing.
“We’re going to grind our guys to get better. Our culture is showing of what we’re doing. But we’re fighting to play our best game the next game,” Diaz said.
“I think our guys have been pretty resilient and its been hard to complain about them for the most part all year.”
Added Garvin, “We’re supposed to execute and be able to adjust. I was proud of that because it was tough for us in the beginning and we ended up doing better later on.”