Rousseau, defense key to Hurricanes

Diaz’s attention to detail helps Miami shut down No. 20 Virginia’s offense

MIAMI GARDENS — Between the defense regaining its identity, N’Kosi Perry filling in to start at quarterback and a reserve kicker coming through, the Miami Hurricanes’ Friday night victory carried plenty of storylines.

A win that keeps UM alive in the ACC Coastal Division against a ranked opponent at home can sure springboard the Hurricanes into the second half of the season.

Here are 10 things we learned from Miami’s 17-9 win over No. 20 Virginia on Friday night.

1. Manny Diaz’s greater attention to the defense was felt

“Relentless” was a common term used postgame to describe Miami’s defensive effort.

Diaz was more involved on that side following the 42 points Virginia Tech scored on UM the previous time out, and it was a throwback to the defense we had seen the previous two seasons on Friday. Five sacks, seven tackles for loss, Jonathan Ford forced a fumble that Trajan Bandy recovered.

The occasional breakdown still occurred — I point to cornerback DJ Ivey losing sight of a receiver deep in his zone and then slipping to allow the first Virginia field goal before halftime – but they were fewer and far between.

And when Virginia did get in close, there was the clutch pass breakups in the end zone of Gurvan Hall and Al Blades Jr., or Hall’s stop on UVa quarterback Bryce Perkins on third-and-goal from the 1. 2. Rousseau a menace in first start

Coaches went with the decision to start defensive end Gregory Rousseau, and it paid enormous dividends.

Rousseau’s line: Seven tackles, two for loss, a sack and a forced fumble. He had the third-down stop on Perkins for the opening three-and-out, setting the tone as a starter from the beginning. On Virginia’s second drive, he had the fourth-and-1 stop on running back Wayne Taulapapa for no gain to force the turnover on downs.

The 6-foot-6, 260-pound team leader in sacks (five) will be a force for some time at The U.

3. N’Kosi Perry can make plays happen with his legs

He only ran for 18 yards (counting three sacks as negative rushing plays), but the plays Perry made on the ground were timely.

Getting the start in place of Jarren Williams, Perry ran for the late touchdown that put the Hurricanes up 8 for the final margin of victory. On the opening scoring drive, resulting in his screen to DeeJay Dallas for a touchdown, he kept it alive with a scramble for a first down on fourth-and7.

Perry was also able to extend some plays both in and out of the pocket with his legs and showed he does a good job of feeling blind-side pressure without looking at the rush.

4. A new kicker sprouts

Okay, he didn’t have to make any extraordinarily difficult kicks, but having redshirt sophomore Turner Davidson make his two extra points and 19-yard field goal in the fourth quarter was refreshing with the place kicking struggles UM has had.

The decision to go with Davidson, a third-stringer before Friday as backup Camden Price was “unavailable,” over Bubba Baxa came down to pregame warmups, Diaz said.

They weren’t long kicks for Davidson, but Baxa had failed on two extra points this season and three of his four field goal misses this season were from inside 30 yards.

5. The depth of the D-line was on display

Rousseau’s start also allowed previous starter at defensive end opposite of Jonathan Garvin, redshirt senior Scott Patchan, to run with the second unit. Trevon Hill was active with three tackles.

There were points where Miami had four reserve defensive linemen in – Patchan and Hill on the edges with Nesta Silvera and Chigozie Nnoruka inside. Jordan Miller got in there at defensive tackle, as well.

The rotation kept the Hurricanes starters up front fresh, as Ford had a sack and forced fumble, Garvin had two quarterback hurries – one that almost led to an interception – and Pat Bethel to get his hand up to block a field goal and bat down another pass at the line of scrimmage.

6. There were some questionable short yardage play calls

It’s got to drive Miami fans nuts that your team gets nine yards between first and second down, has third-and-short and runs east and west.

A second-quarter third-and-1 saw UM go Wildcat with DeeJay Dallas to the outside; the same down and distance in the third quarter was approached with an option pitch out of the shotgun to Cam’Ron Harris – both lost two yards.

Is it too much to ask for just a simple run up the middle in a Power I formation letting Dallas fight for the yard running between Corey Gay nor and Navaughn Donaldson?

Then, in a fourth-quarter third-and-goal from the 3-yard line, it was an odd tight end sweep to Brevin Jordan when you would much rather see Jordan receiving a pass to the end zone in that scenario.

7. The O-line was a little better but still some slip-ups

Let’s face it. Allowing three sacks out of 30-plus dropbacks in a game is a win for this Miami offensive line that came in surrendering 25 sacks in its first five outings. Perry did help by avoiding sacks, escaping pressure.

Freshman left tackle Zion Nelson is still getting beat off the line of scrimmage with the speed rush. Another sack resulted from apparent lack of communication as Gaynor, the center, should’ve passed on the man he was blocking to left guard Donaldson when he allowed another rusher to slip through untouched to his right.

The Hurricanes averaged 4.3 yards per carry on running back rushes – 65 yards on the 15 attempts between Dallas (13) and Harris (two).

8. This time, there would be no slow start

“We were emphasizing in the locker room to start fast,” K.J. Osborn said, and Miami did with that opening 11-play, 68-yard drive that used 6:05 and resulted in the Perry-to-Dallas touchdown.

Instead of facing a 28-0 hole, like the Hurricanes did against Virginia Tech last Saturday, UM started with a lead and never let it go. Miami also never turned the ball over.

9. Critical drops halted early momentum

After the wonderful opening drive, Miami could’ve kept it going offensively, but Mark Pope dropped a pass on a post from the slot that he had to reach for but did get two hands on during the second drive. Then, Osborn dropped one over the middle on the next play.

The Hurricanes would not score again until the fourth quarter, and Perry, who had 67 passing yards on that initial drive, actually ended up with fewer by halftime (61).

Osborn indicated the ball comes up on receivers quicker with Perry’s zip on his throws but insists it should not be an issue for UM pass catchers.

10. The penalties were kept under control

UM entered Friday night averaging 10 penalties per game. Against Virginia, the infraction count was held to four for 32 yards.

Diaz noted, early in the week, that penalties would begin costing players playing time if they continued. The message got across.

One of them on Friday was safety Amari Carter getting called for targeting, his second of the season after also getting hit with one against North Carolina on Sept. 7. Ejected in the second half, Carter will be unavailable for the first half against Georgia Tech coming up.