Takeaways From the Hurricanes’ 35-14 Win Against Georgia Tech
Whatever head coach Mario Cristobal did and said between last Saturday and this Saturday, worked. The Miami Hurricanes played a dominant football game on offense and defense versus the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
The Hurricanes’ defense finally started to generate turnovers and it was arguably the biggest reason for the Canes’ success Saturday afternoon. They played with desire, holding Georgia Tech to just 4-of-12 on third down and created two sacks and nine tackles for loss.
On the other side of the football, the consistency of the offense, leg by first-time starting quarterback Jacurri Brown, was impressive. His efforts were bolstered by a running game that did damage and gave Brown many manageable passing situations to work with.
Here are the key takeaways from Miami's dominant win.
Kamren Kinchens is evolving into one of the nation’s best safeties
The stats can prove it, Kam Kinchens is one of the nation’s best in coverage. Kinchens had three interceptions against the Yellow Jackets, including a 99-yard interception return for a touchdown.
Kinchens tied a school record for interceptions in a game by an individual athlete and recorded the second-longest interception return in program history. With six interceptions on the year, he now leads the country.
Kinchens led the team in total tackles with eight and had a half-tackle for a loss. According to Pro Football Focus, Kinchens’ coverage grade for the year of 90.1 ranks fourth among all safeties. His run defense still needs work, but in the back end, he’s an anchor for the Hurricanes.
Miami must continue to build on the run game
Miami ran for 200 yards for the first time since week one with 305 yards against Bethune-Cookman. That game led to the assumption that the Hurricanes would have an efficient run game this year. That was obviously far from the reality of how it turned out.
However, the Canes were able to establish it against Georgia Tech and it was a major factor in the offense’s ability to extend drives and score touchdowns, something Miami hadn’t done in nine-straight quarters.
Jaylan Knighton getting involved was huge for the offense, but maybe more so for Knighton. The speedy running back has not lived up to his lofty expectations during his third year with Miami.
From off-the-field issues to having fumbling issues on the field, he really needed a confidence boost and he got it against the Yellow Jackets with a 118-yard performance, to go with a rushing touchdown.
Jacurri Brown is clearly still a work in progress, but he’s exceeded expectations
Going into the year, the clear backup was Jake Garcia. Now, Brown has cemented himself as the relief quarterback until Tyler Van Dyke returns.
In Brown's first start for the Canes, he completed 73.7% of his passes for 136 yards and three touchdowns. The offense also seems to be more productive with run-pass option plays, as well as more traditional running plays with Brown at the helm. No doubt, the rushing attack was better with Brown in the lineup. He showed some good signs in the passing game, too.
Brown’s accuracy still needs work, but he made up for the issues against GT with good decision-making and by tucking the ball and running it instead of forcing an errant throw. Brown found seven different receivers. Those points were a great sign that Brown understood the big picture of being a Power 5 quarterback.
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