No. 2 Miami's Offense Thrives on 'Having the Ability to do Both'
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What makes a football team dangerous is the ability to do both. Rushing for over 150 yards and combining for over 250 yards in the air is a balanced attack.
No. 2 Miami has that balanced attack, and it could be the best in the nation. While the numbers won't show that the Hurricanes' offense is one of the best in the country, they don't thrive off metrics; this team thrives off physicality and beating people up.
The Canes have a 55 percent rushing to 45 percent passing attack split through five games this season, but against Florida State, they showed they it doesn't just have to be one way. Offensive Coordinator Shannon Dawson highlighted this while preparing for Louisville.
"I do think that having, you know, the ability to do both is very important, Dawson said. "I think that's how we are uniquely built to be able to do both."
This also puts a spotlight on the endless weapons Dawson has at his disposal. Three running backs and a wide receiver room that can go six deep allows the Canes to do whatever they want on offense.
"Ultimately, the flow of the game and how people are going to play us, you know, you figure that out through the very first parts of the game, Dawson continued. "If they're going to sit there, and a lot of it does have to do with just numbers. You know, sometimes we're going to run it no matter what, but not all the time.
"We're not going to beat our head against a wall either. And so, if they're committed to doing something numbers-wise that doesn't make a whole lot of sense, then we're going to try to take advantage of it in other ways. And we have the ability to do that. Not everybody has the ability to be productive in both, in my opinion. So, I do take pride in the fact that our offense can cut you a couple of different ways."
He also dove deep into their style of formations that change with what a defense gives the team. He likes going with bunch sets but won't be scared to spread everyone out and let Beck air it out.
“It limits what the defense can do coverage-wise,” Dawson said. “If you look at those sets, when they get condensed, typically they have a couple things they go to that they like. And so you can kind of forecast what they’re going to do in those sets to get the extra hat in a certain place. But I do love open sets too. I like both.”
The Hurricanes look to use that helthy balance of both against the Louisville Cardinals (4-1, 1-1 ACC) on Friday on ESPN at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University and is the site lead for the Miami Hurricanes on SI. He can be reached at Twitter @Justice_News5.
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.