Why No. 1 Miami's Offensive Aggressiveness Can Only Help Them Pittsburgh
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. — No. 1 Miami (6-0, 4-0 ACC) is 1.5 points away from averaging 50 points a game this season.
Miami's offense is elite, but it still goes through offensive lulls that have held it back, nearly costing it the game against Florida State.
Granted, that was a rivalry game, and anything can happen when everyone is playing their best, but UM's offensive aggressiveness has been highlighted time and again as to why they are as good as they are.
Moreover, thanks to offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson, the Hurricanes' aggressiveness depends on how well they take the ball and how much they want to push the ball down the field.
Through six games, Miami has only had two turnovers. One came against Florida A&M after the game was already out of hand. The last came against the Seminoles when star quarterback Darian Mensah left one floating for too long, targeting Cooper Barkate in the end zone.
That aggressiveness stands out to Mensah when reviewing his and the offense's performance. He takes care of the ball, but he remains cautious even when he's not pushing the ball down the field.
"I'd say we're just cautiously aggressive," Mensah said. "Like, we understand. I mean, we we're throwing passes where it's a true one on one, while we're running up running a ball when it's, you know, blocked up. And so we're aggressive, but we're not too aggressive to where we lose points."
Against Pitt, the Hurricanes will get aggressive in the rushing attack and through the air. However, they don't want to be one-dimensional, which could cause more lulls in the No. 1 offense in the country.
"I think they're run defense is number one in the country for rush defense," Mensah said on what stands out for the Panthers. "So the physical, good, really good third-down package. And so, yeah, we got to come prepared for it. I think that's what stands out."
Moreover, Mensah is the style of quarterback who keeps focus on the next thing. Being the No. 1 team in the country is cool and all, but Miami's offense is leaving points on the board. Another thing that bothers the star quarterback.
"I'm kind of so focused on what we got to do right now," Mensah said. "I've just put the blinders on. I've, you know, had people text me. 'Congrats on being number one.' I haven't seen it. So I'm really just blocking out all the noise and, you know, trying to be focused on going 1-0."
That 1-0 mentality is now focused on the Panthers.
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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.
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