Hurricanes Continue to Change Course for the Better
Like their namesake, the Miami Hurricanes in recent years were a force in August then off the radar in November.
After another resounding ACC win, this time against Louisville 52-27 on a soggy Hard Rock Stadium surface, Miami is changing the late season narrative in a big way.
The schedule makers could not have predicted the conflict South Florida football fans would endure at 3:30 Eastern, with a lot of attention diverted to the Alabama/LSU game kicking off simultaneously.
Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa were both must-see TV but neither matched the ridiculous stat line of Jarren Williams on the day.
Williams would finish with a school record six touchdowns on a hyper efficient 15-of-22 passing for 253 yards, making the right decisions and elite throws on all levels. Those six touchdowns also tied DeShaun Watson for the most in an ACC matchup.
He was maligned early in the season for his deep passing accuracy, those concerns have been put to rest in a major way. Like the Miami sky on an grey washed Saturday, Williams rained down from above all afternoon.
Following up their most complete win of the year to date against Florida State with an even more dominant performance shows the growth of Manny Diaz and his team. The Hurricanes came out on fire for the second straight week and scored touchdowns on their first four drives for the first time since 2013.
Miami was on a downward spiral after the Georgia Tech loss, sitting at 3-4 overall and 1-3 in ACC competition. The offense was trying to find their footing, switching quarterbacks and lacking creativity to boot.
Dan Enos is starting to find his groove as a play caller and finally using the dynamic playmakers in his arsenal. The Hurricanes bombarded Louisville to the tune of 449 yards with near perfect run pass balance, 252 yards passing and 197 yards rushing.
DeeJay Dallas (15 carries, 98 yards, TD) and Cam Harris (8 carries, 78 yards) ground Louisville to a pulp from the backfield and Miami averaged 6.2 yards per carry. Dallas also added a 14-yard touchdown catch to round out his stellar performance.
Mike Harley (6 receptions, 116 yards, 2 TD) and Dee Wiggins (3 receptions, 85 yards, 2 TD) both had career days, Wiggins has seven catches for 159 yards and three touchdowns in his last two games.
On the other side of the ball the stats do not tell the complete story, Louisville was able to move the ball all day with little resistance between the 20's. The Cardinals had runs of 58 and 43 yards, while Tutu Atwell torched the Miami secondary with six catches for 142 yards including an 80-yard catch and run.
The Miami defense and special teams made enough plays to create separation, and the Hurricanes won the turnover battle 3-0.
Louisville quarterback Micale Cunningham was sharp going 12-of-18 for 219 yards with two passing touchdowns and another on the ground before leaving with an injury in the second half. Javian Hawkins led Louisville with 15 carries for 105 yards.
For the 13 seniors playing their final home game it was a special sendoff, Jimmy Murphy earned (broke) the Turnover Chain after a muffed Louisville punt and the day was complete.
Miami (6-4, 4-3) is now bowl eligible with FIU and Duke remaining on the regular season slate. The Hurricanes will be favored in both, and now they have found the formula to fuel a complete 60 minute effort.
The tropical hurricane season may be waining, but the 2019 Miami Hurricanes football team is a Category 5 in November.
Follow us on Twitter for more great Hurricanes content@CaneMaven. Photo by Tony Capobianco.
