Canes' offense to face first test
ACC opener comes vs. Duke defense ranked among best in nation.
Mark Richt wasn’t happy about how his team practiced Tuesday. He called the performance both “a little bit disappointing” and “a little bit upsetting.”
What about Wednesday? “Much better,” he said.
Richt is exacting in expectations for his offense, and he said he saw players “going through the motions,” as the defense “com
peted their butts off. ... That’s what got me upset.”
Especially with a game at Duke (4-0, 1-0 ACC) tonight.
The Blue Devils, who have beaten their past three opponents — Northwestern, Baylor and North Carolina — by a combined 48 points, are UM’s first ACC opponent. No Hurricanes fan need be reminded that Miami has never gone to the ACC Championship game, while Duke, a longtime league doormat, did so in 2013.
Duke’s wins are over less-than-formidable opponents, but the Blue Devils have looked at least like a sure-shot bowl team. Miami (2-0), ranked 14th this week, will need offense, defense
and special teams clicking.
“It’s huge,” Richt said. “It’s huge. It’s why we practice. It’s why we have mat drills. It’s why we have everything — to try to win the Coastal and go play in that game in Charlotte and win it, and see what happens after that. It means everything to us.”
It certainly means a lot to Duke, which is both fired up about last week’s rivalry win over UNC and the last game UM played in Durham, which Duke lost on an eight-lateral kickoff return. The Blue Devils’ defense, in particular, presents a stiff challenge for a Miami offense that has yet to be tested.
Duke’s defense ranks 21st nationally in yards per play allowed and is giving up 2.33 yards per carry, fourth-best in the country. Last week, UNC gained 118 yards and a touchdown on 33 carries, the best rushing performance against Duke this year.
After Miami’s two games — wins against FCS foe Bethune-Cookman and Toledo — the Hurricanes lead the nation in rushing yards per carry, with an eye-popping (and likely unsustainable) 9.52. UM rushed for 317 yards against Bethune and 254 yards (and four touchdowns) against Toledo. Junior Mark Walton has looked like one of the nation’s best running backs and leads the country in yards per carry (13.04).
UM’s offense ranks second nationally in yards per play (8.95). Clean pockets are a reason for that. UM has allowed two sacks, tied for 16th on a per-game basis.
Several Blue Devils could take the shine off those numbers, including senior defensive tackle Mike Ramsay (3.5 sacks), true freshman end Drew Jordan (2.5) and senior cornerback Bryon Fields, who was named ACC defensive back of the week after his
61-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter sealed a 27-17 win on the road against the Tar Heels.
Duke ranks 23rd in opponent passer rating, and the number of passes it has intercepted (seven) is higher than passing touchdowns allowed (five).
“They’ll throw any type of coverage at us at any moment,” Hurricanes quarterback Malik Rosier said. “You have to know what you’re doing, or they’re going to make you pay. ... When you watch them, there’s not many busted coverages. They’re around the ball every time you throw it.”
Rosier is ranked No. 15 nationally in passer rating (168.75).
“Their defense is very statistically good. They’re sound. They’re a very fundamental defense,” said senior Braxton Berrios, a Raleigh, N.C., native who returns home as UM’s leading receiver (140 yards, two touchdowns on eight catches). “They play to their strengths.”
The Hurricanes’ offense should be better this week with Walton (ankle) and their best wideout — Wellington High graduate Ahmmon Richards — expected to play.
Richt said Richards, who has yet to play in a game because of a hamstring strain he picked up mid-camp, has been going fullspeed at practice.
‘Their defense is very statistically good. They’re sound. They’re a very fundamental defense. They play to their strengths.’ Braxton Berrios Miami senior wide receiver