Hurricanes Play Down to Competition Again, Fall to GT at Home
Time and time again, fans of the Miami Hurricanes have been led to believe "The U" is back.
Well they are back...in the ACC Coastal basement where they belong.
After another botched short field goal that could have saved a close call, Miami finished the game as they started.
Losing.
Watching a less talented team walk over them to victory.
This time it was 1-5 Georgia Tech taking advantage of the Miami "Slump Busters" 28-21 in front of a not too surprised home crowd.
Another Slow Start
The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead when N'Kosi Perry held onto the ball in the face of pressure too long, fumbling away any early momentum in the end zone.
Perry bounced back and had a respectable if underwhelming performance, he missed several easy throws which would have kept drives alive. For the day Perry was 16-of-28 for 188 yards and two touchdowns.
DeeJay Dallas leaving early with an apparent knee injury only helped accentuate the bad vibes of the day, but Cam Harris did an exceptional job stepping into the lead back role. Harris had a career day with 18 carries and 136 yards on the ground, and three catches for 31 yards and a touchdown out of the backfield.
KJ Osborn continues to shine and was a top target in the absence of Jeff Thomas due to suspension. Osborn finished with just four catches for 39 yards but did have a touchdown and a well executed 52-yard punt return.
Dee Wiggins (3 receptions, 62 yards with a long of 50) and Mike Harley (4 catches, 50 yards) finally had some impact. It was a slow day for star tight end Brevin Jordan who finished with just three catches for 31 yards and was stopped short on the final offensive play in overtime.
The Hurricanes were shaky on third down (5/13, 38%) but that is actually an improvement over the 27.9% mark going into the game.
Miami would spar with Georgia Tech and the game would reach the half tied at 21, but in the second half the Hurricanes offense had a glass jaw.
The defense did not play poorly per se but they did not step up when it counted, continuing a recurring theme of missed tackles and bad fundamentals.
Miami forced a lone turnover on a Shaq Quarterman fumble recovery and the senior linebacker had a bounce back day with 13 tackles and 2TFL. On the day the Hurricanes defense was behind the line quite a bit with three sacks and eight TFL, Trevon Hill had an active game up front with a sack and two TFL.
Special Teams Disaster Continues
Once again the Miami kicking game kicked Miami in the gut, going 0-3 on field goals is unacceptable and those points were needed to help a stagnant offense.
Dan Enos and his play calling should be under heavy scrutiny, too many cute plays in the red zone yielded negative or negligible results. Feed Harris and Brevin Jordan in the short field and score some points.
DO NOT LET THE KICKING GAME DECIDE IT!
Georgia Tech scored on a 41-yard fake punt from Pressley Harvin III in the second quarter and blocked the potential game-winning field goal.
Miami's special teams in the kicking game on either side is cringeworthy viewing at this point. Turner Davidson fever looks to be short lived, the new favorite kicker was 0-2 including the blocked chip shot to force overtime. Miami has now missed six field goals inside of 34 yards, along with two extra points.
The Hurricanes could not crack 21 points against a Georgia Tech team that allowed 79 points in their previous two games, and 27 to CITADEL!
Miami now stands at 3-4, 1-3 on the season, up next they travel to face Pitt on October 26th.
With another flat start in the books, Manny Diaz and his coaching staff have look unprepared more often than not this season. Another meek opponent walked into Hard Rock Stadium looking for answers and finding them.
Meanwhile, the home team again left with a ton of questions.
Follow us on Twitter for more Miami Hurricanes@CaneMavenand@SportsWaveDave. Photo by Tony Capobianco.
