Diaz says Canes have turned a corner with FSU looming
Miami looking for momentum after escaping Pittsburgh
Miami defensive lineman Gregory Rousseau (15) celebrates with head coach Manny Diaz Saturday in Pittsburgh. Miami won 16-12.
PITTSBURGH — When Miami Hurricanes coach Manny Diaz addressed his players following their 16-12 win at Pittsburgh, he mentioned a chain.
It wasn’t the Turnover Chain, which did make three appearances on Saturday at Heinz Field, it was a reference to the bond the team fortified in the week leading up to it, a week where Miami could’ve easily fallen in the opposite direction after their overtime loss to 2-5 Georgia Tech the week prior.
“You get a chain, some hard steel, tight connections, tight bonds. You know what that chain don’t do? It don’t break,” Diaz said from the locker room in a video the team released on Twitter.
With UM’s original starting quarterback this year, Jarren Williams, coming in off the bench to lead a game-winning drive and the defense keeping the Panthers out of the end zone, if the Hurricanes are having a coming-together moment to redeem themselves from the four losses, now would be a great time. A trip to Tallahassee for a rivalry game against Florida State, announced as a 3:30 p.m. kickoff this Saturday, is on deck.
“It’s the best medicine there is,” UM coach Manny Diaz said following Saturday’s win. “Some of the adversity we’ve had in the games, it tests your mettle. You say you’re going to come in here, we’re going to do this, do that and then you go through some of the things that this team has gone through, you have two choices: Surrender or come closer together.
“To be very honest, this week, something happened. And I’m not saying this [win] fixes everything and whatever — that’s being oversimplistic — but the guys came together this week when they had the opportunity to scatter. A lot of that goes to our leadership.”