UM defense eager to build on success
Wake’s effort against Seminoles gets Hurricanes’ attention
CORAL GABLES — After playing at Duke on Friday night, the Hurricanes had the chance to do something rare — watch their next opponent play a game in real-time, on television, like most college football fans.
And that’s exactly how many players spent their Saturday afternoons, tuning in individually to watch as Florida State, which will host No. 13 Miami on Saturday, notched its first win of the season, a 26-19 victory at Wake Forest.
While the win helped the Seminoles avoid their first 0-3 start since 1976, it wasn’t exactly pretty.
Previously unbeaten Wake Forest held FSU quarterback James Blackman to just 7 passing yards in the first half. The freshman was pressured throughout and was ultimately, sacked five times. And the Demon Deacons registered 17 tackles for loss — eight more than top-ranked Alabama managed in its season-opening win over FSU last month and the most the Seminoles have allowed in their three games.
Though Hurricanes line-
“They’re still Florida State. They still have highly recruited and skilled players all over their offense.” Manny Diaz, UM defensive coordinator
backer Shaq Quarterman acknowledged every game is different, there’s no doubt what Wake Forest did defensively against the Seminoles caught Miami’s attention, especially with the Hurricanes (3-0, 1-0 ACC) coming off their best defensive showing of the season in last week’s 31-6 win over Duke.
“Wake Forest does a lot of similar stuff that we do on defense, so it’s always encouraging to see someone that’s similar to you do something that everyone wants to do, especially versus those guys,” said Hurricanes defensive tackle Kendrick Norton, who enters Saturday’s game with seven tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss. “So it’s encouraging.”
Added defensive end Joe Jackson, who last season led Miami with 11.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks, “If we play the way we always play, aggressive, violent and fast, we can match or even pass the amount of tackles for loss [Wake Forest] had. … If we get good penetration, we’re doing to do good.”
Entering the season, the Hurricanes were expected to have one of the best defenses in the Atlantic Coast Conference, if not the nation. But in Miami’s first two games, the unit struggled at times, particularly in the secondary.
Bethune-Cookman moved the ball effectively in the season opener, totaling 350 yards in a game Miami ultimately won, 41-13. And Toledo, one of the better offensive teams in the nation led by veteran quarterback Logan Woodside, kept pace with the Hurricanes through three quarters. The Rockets managed 429 yards and were 13-of-23 on third-down conversions before Miami clinched a 52-30 win.
And while there were stretches when Duke was effective, ultimately, the Hurricanes kept the Blue Devils out of the end zone,
forced two turnovers, managed six sacks of quarterback Daniel Jones and finished with a season-high 11 tackles for loss.
With Florida State (1-2, 1-1) looming and a slate of ACC games coming after Saturday, the Hurricanes are looking to build on what they did at Duke. And despite Florida State’s early-season offensive woes, Miami’s defensive players and coaches say they aren’t taking anything for granted against the Seminoles.
While FSU is trying to find its offensive footing after losing quarterback Deondre Francois to a season-ending injury and running back Dalvin Cook to the NFL, there’s still talent in Tallahassee.
Receiver Auden Tate is averaging 17.4 yards per catch and caught the game-winner last week in Wake Forest. Burly back Jacques Patrick is averaging 5.3 yards per carry, and freshman running back Cam Akers was a U.S. Army All-American and one of the most highly coveted prospects in the nation last year.
“They’re still Florida State. They still have highly recruited and skilled players all over their offense,” Hurricanes defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said. “Like with most quarterbacks, their job is to deliver [the ball] to the guys who can make the plays. And you’re in a game where, generally speaking, there is little margin for error. Big plays will be a big factor in this game, and trying to limit the big plays . ... ”